


Shades of Light from a Transcendental Realm

by Destux



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coping, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, IT IS TIME, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Nanami Chiaki Lives, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Semi-Canon Compliant, Semi-canon divergence, post-sdr2, spoilers for the main series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-03-26 17:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19010665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destux/pseuds/Destux
Summary: The survivors of the horrible killing game that happened wake up and face a reality that is no different from the nightmare they just woke up from. Their sins and despair come crashing back to them as they regain their memories back when they were Ultimates in Hope’s Peak Academy. However, there are still pieces of hope scattered amongst the past, present and future.One must wonder if they’ll be able to collect them all this time around…





	1. Overture to a New(Old) Requiem

**Author's Note:**

> I will put off one of my ongoing fics for this one. I have been itching to write this one the moment I published my second fic. 
> 
> I remembered that I had a plan on how this was going to play out buuuuutttt I can’t seem to remember it. Oh well, I have a new idea for the pacing of this story anyways.
> 
> Do take note that I am basically regaining the bits and pieces for the imagination I had for this one i.e. I’m sorta making this up on the fly. I don’t know if this makes this easier to update or not.
> 
> J-Just trust me, damnit…!

_Shrouded._

_Bogged._

_Confused._

_Entangled._

_Wired._

_Immobile._

_Restless._

_Tired._

_Bored._

_Somewhat like a newborn coming out of their mother’s womb, a thick boggy impenetrable fog of darkness denied me my eyesight while a gelatinous-like liquid encased my resting naked body, suspended barely below the impotable fluid’s depths by wires that punctured every key point of my motor control before my nose was completely submerged in it._

_How typical… This was no more different than what happened to me prior to the killing game that started it all. What seems so extraordinary to any other human being, I treat it as something mundane as the phenomena of reflecting and refracting light to make a rainbow - a natural occurrence._

_And just like everything else, this bores me._

_. . ._

_. . ._

_Although...I am starting to have doubts about my upbringing. I suppose I have all the time to muse about my existence while I wait for my eventual release._

_”Hinata-kun…”_

_As spotty as my memories are, I recall each salvageable event as vividly as the moment it happened: the moment I came out of my mother's womb, the superficial happiness I felt in my childhood partaking in various "hobbies", the reality my mentors drilled to my brain (in a figurative and literal sense), the despair I felt about my lack of talent, the hope that brimmed inside me when I received that letter that changed my fate, the sensation of accomplishment I felt when my shoes felt the very heavenly grounds of Hope's Peak Academy, and..._

_”Talent isn't the goal... I think...”_

_...Nanami..._

_Every mistake...every regret...every single...DAMN...thing!!! I had every opportunity in the world to protect her. I had all the time to listen to her words and play video games with her by that fountain. I had every chance to say my last farewell to her, as both Hinata Hajime and... **him**. And what... happened?_

_"You don't remember...? Not even...when we used to..."_

_She suffered._

_"You know..."_

_She bled out._

_"...they say..."_

_She died..._

_"I'm sorry..."_

_I'm sorry..._

_"...that I didn't save you."_

_...that I didn't save you._

_Was this finally the answer I was seeking? There is no hope in my future, so the only logical conclusion is..._

_. . ._

_...Perhaps so. If there is no more hope left, then all that remains is..._

_. . ._

_What a boring outcome. Hope? Despair? Neither are as unpredictable as I thought. Two same sides of the coin of concept, like light and darkness, ascension and descent, war and peace, morality and justice. One must pass before the other comes. One must influence the other. One cannot exist without the other. Such as now; while I wait under the cape of inescapable darkness, I know that the light will come eventually._

_. . ._

_...But what kind of light is out there...in a dark monotonous world outside the transcendental realm?_

_. . ._

_Then, I shall wait in bored anticipation..._

_...and entrust my fate to the future...as I did._

_But to do that, I must carry the burden of both hope and despair, I must seek not for forgiveness, but for a better path to lead others out of the darkness we casted upon the world..._

_...and I must live the rest of my life..._

_**...as Hinata Hajime.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! Sorry, this is just the prologue. The real story should start in the next chapter.


	2. Arise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/W: Gets very graphic at the end. Please read with caution.

The creak of a door opening disturbed the long droning of the bubbling liquid that tickled the sleeping ultimate’s back. His heavy eyelids opened a bit and the blue green luminescence of the room's light colored his half-lidded eyes through the cracks between the lid and the pod itself. 

“Ready your weapon,” a woman’s voice ordered.

“B-But—“

“You never know with these types,” says a man, “especially _this one_.”

He heard footsteps – careful tiptoes really – approach him, along with the cocking of a firearm. From what he can gather, he surmised that there was a short male wearing uncomfortable leather shoes taking point. Might be the expendable person of the squad…or the braindead mongrel of a group of “geniuses”. He sighed internally. He already knows their predictable strategy, and how to disarm and liquidate every person in this room with just pure instinct.

So, just like before, he chooses to do nothing and see where that will take him, knowing every possible outcome if he acts on it.

The pod hissed and a cold fog wheezed out inside and outside from it. His vision lit with a motif of green, as the man bathed in green light standing over him slowly waved his hand over his now fully open eyes. 

After a tepid breath, he says, “He’s fully awake now…”

The man backed away into the background. Footsteps continued to dance around the artificial genius’s auditory range. However, a new sound came into play. Before his mind latched on to that alien sound, the appendages that subdued him were released and the fluid was being drained underneath him. Instead of the lukewarm temperature of the fluid, his back now felt the mixture of a low volume of that same liquid and the cold air outside.

He was mildly surprised at their carelessness. With nothing there to restrict his movements anymore, he could just jump out of this pod and escape, with the addition of a few dead bodies here and there to secure his freedom. Nevertheless, that surprise faded into his usual indifferent disposition towards everything.

He slowly sat up from the pod and stuck his head outside to take in his surroundings. Not much has changed ever since he entered the program, not that he expected some alteration after three weeks. He remembered the intricacies like the monitor on the wall, the same arrangement of cables and wires strewn over the floor and walls, and even the same dusty spots in the more remote nooks and crannies.

He looked around more. As his eyes locked on to another man, Byakuya Togami, stalwartly aiming a pistol at him, he predicted that the inexperienced progeny has a 11.2333% chance of landing a shot. First of all, his grip was improper, just a simple sudden movement and the recoil will stun him long enough to be disabled. Not only that, but with where he is pointing the gun, his first shot will most likely hit one of his allies instead. And that is without taking his luck into consideration.

Things…did not go the way he expected. Byakuya slowly lowered his pistol whilst smirking to himself, as if everything was going according to _his_ plan.

“Hmph, you’re still the same as ever, aren’t you?” His smirk widened as his condescension grew by the second. “Only this time, you can’t do anything.”

Hajime blinked owlishly. He did not speak, albeit different from _would not_. He _could not_ speak no matter how hard he tried.

The man on the keyboard, whom he just realized was Makoto Naegi, approached him with a hand to help him out of the pod. He knew something was off. Makoto was more vocal than this; perhaps he was still apprehensive towards the monster in front of him? 

. . .

He accepted Makoto’s friendly gesture and took his hand. He then pulled him as hard as he can and caught Hajime by his right arm using his shoulders before he stumbled to the floor. Still, even without Makoto’s assistance, he was _sure_ that he could prevent himself from tumbling down.

”…This is as per course to your recovery. You are currently suffering from muscle atrophy…”

_”…This is as per course to your recovery. You are currently suffering from muscle atrophy…”_

A memory played itself in his head. It sounded like he was helping someone with the same predicament as he has right now. Much to his dismay, the memory ended just as suddenly as it had started playing. A gloved hand touching him snapped him out of his unusual reverie. There, he noticed Kyoko Kirigiri sightlessly shoving a neatly folded dull blue bath robe towards his chest. It took him a moment to realize that the detective was making a conscious effort to avert her eyes from what lies down below. Her face scrunched up, visibly disgusted by the mental image she can't help but project in her brain once she imagined it, and silently pleaded for him to "take the damn robe and put it on".

With his superhuman recovery, he took the robe and started to don it. He nodded to Makoto to signal that he can do it on his own. The boy nodded back and retreated back by classmates' side.

As he unfolded the fabric, a pair of gray slip-on shoes with no socks fell to his feet. That must have been why the robe was much heavier than it should have been. He did not question their choice of dreary lifeless palette of apparel. No other choice could be a better fit for the *reformed* Remnants of Despairs – the only reason he knew that was because he could hear them faintly whispering to each other beyond the door. He couldn't help but feel a little excited to see them again. He felt...warmth and comfort for some reason. Was it because of what happened in the Neo World Program?

He hurried in getting dressed to see them, to talk with them, to laugh with them.

He missed them so much he could cry.

But alas, he found it difficult to emote. He had to stop rushing things; after all, his mind is still adjusting to the wave of information that flooded his thoughts.

"We'll send someone in to guide you to your cottage..." Kyoko informed, her eyes lingering on his in long silence. "...soon enough. For now, you'll have to settle in here." 

The detective then shifted her gaze towards Byakuya, to whom he pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated by what she implied to him. The others left him alone with the sole remnant in this room. As expected, he expressed no hint of fear, but utter irritation towards his existence. 

"You can walk, right?"

Hajime nodded slowly.

"Then follow me."

Not up for more leisurely talk, the scion briskly vacated the area. Hajime followed soon thereafter. Upon passing through the double doors, his peripheral vision caught some shambling visitors wearing the same kind of robe he had, only to be interrupted by Byakuya’s abrupt opening of a door. Like a robot, Hajime turned his head towards the door to his temporary room.

Not much could be found in his room – not anything that catches his interest. Everything in this room was planned by a conservative, only leaving objects that they assumed an artificial genius would utilize to keep themselves busy. He guesses he can keep himself busy with the laptop and...

"...Where...?" Hajime asked with raspy untrained vocal chords.

"Where what?" Byakuya replied with a question, annoyed as ever. "Couldn't you use your Ultimate Orator talent to speak up? I can't hear you."

"...Where...did...you...get...that...?"

"I don't know and I don't care where that plastic piece of garbage came from."

Hajime kept his focus on the "plastic piece of garbage", resting idly on the rickety-looking futon. He paid Byakuya's snarky reply no attention at all.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Byakuya turned around and said, "I'll be going. Get some rest, will you Kamukura?"

"...No..."

"Excuse me?"

"...Hinata..." Hajime looked to his side and gave Byakuya a sideways glare, his red eye glaring like a red star in the unlit dark gray room. "...Call...me...Hinata..."

Without a word, Byakuya scoffed and stomped out of the room, leaving Hajime to his shabby room. The door was left open, much to his convenience despite the scion’s failed attempts to get on his nerves. He constantly shifted from the image of a ruthless businessman to a petty nerd who just cannot bear to have a mistake on his account. Nothing particularly interesting in his character however.

Hajime sat down on the bed and furthered his examination on the sole interesting object in his room, the blue handheld console. The display was blank and the console’s temperature suggested that it has not been used in a long time; however, it was maintained and cleaned regularly – perhaps it was brought here from another place just recently? He can not determine without running into some errors, for every other thing around him looked like it was brought here recently as well.

Letting the pointless elusion slide for now, he switched the console on and was greeted with a splash screen of its logo. The bright white background soon changed to a dark one, resembling that of the vast emptiness of space, then suddenly, he found himself starting a round of Gala Omega on instinct. The game itself was painstakingly simplistic, in design and in mechanics. The goal was to survive as long as you can against an onslaught of enemy ships by shooting them with your own ship. The more ships you destroy, the higher your score will be; that much, he could deduce at first glance.

…But this was not his first time playing the game.

_”Nanami, did you set this high score?”_

_”Ah, sorry, Hinata-kun. I wanted to play a quick round on your console while waiting.”_

_”A quick round?! THIS, was just a quick round?! I…”_

_”…Is there something wrong?”_

“…Is there something wrong?”

A moment’s loss of focus was all it took for the robot-like Hajime to lose one of his lives in the game. He paused the game and looked up at a blonde woman, Sonia Nevermind, conversing with someone who was hiding behind the wall, hoping that it provided sufficient protection from the monster in the room. 

“H-Hell yeah th-there is…!” A male, who’s teeth were chattering in agitation, shouted. “…This is suicide! I know he’s gonna…er…uhh— I don’t know… snap all our heads off?!”

“Quit being a scaredy cat and g-get in there already!” Another woman tried to order sternly, but could not hide the fear from her voice.

“How b-bout you go then?! You’re the only one who can take him on!”

“F-Fine! You’re hopeless…”

A tanned arm shoved the princess gently to the side, letting out an undignified yelp from the blonde and nearly making her nearly lose her footing were it not for the door handle. As predicted, the cowardly man, Kazuichi Soda, mustered up his courage for the wrong reasons and defiantly stood up against the bestial Akane Owari for assaulting her “Sonia-san”. From the intense staredown the three gave to each other, Hajime could sense that the “reformation” did not produce the ideal result. Their happy memories together before the Tragedy were muddled with trauma that gave them despair and made them resent each other…to an extent. Sonia outgrew her manipulative behavior; instead of forcing the weak-minded Kazuichi to be the bait for her sake, she expressed genuine concern, albeit with a voice that lacked its vitality and authority. Their old selves were still there, it just needed time to resurface. After all…

_”…one does not recover from… trauma so quickly…”_

…And just like before, any chance he focuses on these fleeting moments, they melt like butter, to a form that lacked a definite shape. He figures he should stop trying to let these nuisances disturb him – the past has passed, and its destiny is to crumble to dust over time. 

“I…would prefer it,” he started, clearing his throat, “if you…settled your differences…someplace else…”

“O-Oh…!”

“Huh?”

“Ummm…”

The three collectively shook their heads and stared at each other, dumbfounded. Akane started muttering apologies softly to the two and looked away in shame, while Kazuichi helped Sonia to stand up and retreated his face under his beanie. Any in-fighting between the three dissipated into thin air that continuously loomed over their heads.

With the tense atmosphere now getting too awkward for them, Sonia coughed lightly. “…Would you mind if we make conversation, er…” she let out a long sigh, shutting her eyelids and scrunching her face, “…Kamu—“

“…Hinata…”

“Hinata…?” Kazuichi parroted, now joining the conversation. “…Why the sudden name change…and…” he trailed off for a bit—

“…Why does it sound so familiar…” echoed out Akane in a careful tone. “That’s what you were gonna ask, right?”

“Yeah… that.”

Hajime did not reply; this time, he _would not_ reply. If his hypothesis was correct, they should have known who he _was_. He remembered not imparting any mention of Hajime Hinata to the remnants in the past. The only time they should have gotten to know Hajime Hinata was in the program, and they did not remember him – a fellow survivor of…Izuru Kamukura’s…experiment.

“…Forget it.” Kazuichi sighed to himself. “We didn’t come here to solve some mystery anyways.”

“You came here…to make idle conversation, did you not?” Hajime asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it idle…” reaffirmed Sonia. “…But yes. We would like to have a little…tea party! Without the tea, unfortunately…”

Perching himself on the side of the futon, he picked up the discarded console and set it on top of the laptop; strangely enough, he kept his gaze at the device for an abnormal amount of time before looking back to the three who were still at the doorway, avoiding him like he was the plague.

“…You may enter if you so desire.” said Hajime. “I imagine it would be uncomfortable to keep a distance.”

“You certainly have changed,” Sonia pointed out, entering the room with the others at bay, “haven’t you Kamukura-san?”

“Hinata.”

“You still talk like him.” Akane stated bluntly. “For us, at least.”

“I can say the same.” Hajime ignored Akane’s remark and gave his attention to Sonia's. "Up to a certain point, that is."

"Y-Yes..."

The conversation paused with just a few "yeahs" and sighs exchanged. He did not expect much to transpire; this _was_ the inevitable outcome given the circumstances. Even someone as socially incapable as he was understands this.

They shared his boredom and tried to look around the empty room for anything to pass the time, aside from conversing with someone who only talks when he wants to. Kazuichi first picked up the console on top of the laptop then turned and flipped it around with careful hands. His eyes, disregarding the lifelessness and despair in them, showed some tiny hint of spark towards the machine on his hands. Sonia sat down on the floor and hummed to herself, clasping her hands together and staring at the most boring corner in the room.

Akane, on the other hand, stood up abruptly. "...I'm gonna go for a run around the island. See you later."

"Wait...!" Sonia called out, but the uncontrollable gymnast was already far from auditory range. "...Owari-san!"

"She was bored," informed Hajime, "so let her be. She knows she does not have much to say."

She sighed in response. "...This is much more difficult than I thought. She said it was going to be easy but—"

"Owari said that?"

"No, not her." Kazuichi answered, still interested in the device. "It’s someone else. From the Future Foundation."

"I thought you were incapable of speaking in riddles, Soda.”

“Well, if you wanted to know her name, you could’ve just asked like a normal person!”

Hajime stifled his laughter with a derisive snort. “…It was a joke.”

“Oh, _I can tell_.”

A quiet giggle escaped Sonia’s lips as for the first time, a genuine unforced smile formed on them. Both Kazuichi and Hajime turned to look at her, with the former glaring at his person of interest, yet she was unfazed; her smile remained on her face.

"...It was a very funny joke, Kamu—" she cleared her throat before excusing herself with a gesture, "Hinata-san. You made me drop my marbles!"

She probably waited for a laugh to come from her "joke" as well, and none came. As if on cue, Kazuichi started to laugh in unpatterned bursts, his hand scratching the back of his beanie. A bead of sweat slid down beside his right eye. Hajime cringed internally from how obviously forced that laugh was, and how oblivious the "comedian" was with her celebratory huff, that he began to laugh as well.

“Heh, well that’s a first.”

“Ah, Kuzuryu! Have you two finished your discussion?”

The late arrival, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, gave a nod promptly.

“…Aren’t you gonna come in?” Kazuichi asked, _still_ focused on the console and now ruining Hajime’s current run in the game by wasting another one of his lives.

“It’s getting late, dumbass.” Fuyuhiko barked back. “We can continue this tomorrow, when that broad decides to keep still for once…”

"I see..." Sonia longingly echoed out. "I was hoping we would talk more today, but I suppose it can wait until tomorrow. Very well," she stood up and bowed her head towards Hajime, "thank you for having us today, Hinata-san, even though you should be at bed resting right now."

"You...'re welcome..."

They exchanged their goodbyes and left after Sonia. Kazuichi returned the console back where it was placed originally – on top of the laptop – then took off with a toothy grin, seemingly pleased with something other than Hajime's company. Nevertheless, the latter shrugged off that notion and laid his back over the futon.

He always thought this room was located on the outskirts of this building, as the window on the wall beside him mirrored the dark night sky of the past. He then remembered that the skies now were tinted with crimson red, filled to the brim with pollutants and perfumed with the scent of blood and rotten flesh. The “night sky” outside resembled nothing of the sort.

So much yet so little transpired ever since his awakening. Out of the fifteen participants of his experiment, only five woke up from that forgotten nightmare – the “fake” game that only a select few witnessed in abject horror. He can imagine a few events that possibly occurred in the program. However, he did not see the fun in imagining things that can not happen in their reality.

What he held interest in, was himself.

He _is_ Hajime Hinata.

_Not_ Izuru Kamukura. He was baptized with that name after everything was taken away from him for every talent.

Everything felt the same yet it all was a completely new experience for him. The feeling of boredom, excitement, joy, sadness… 

He knew those sensations as if they were old friends, but they seemed so foreign. He also felt that he was two things existing as one. He cannot ever be the Hajime Hinata that existed in the simulation, nor be the Izuru Kamukura that destroyed lives.

Then, he _isn't_ Hajime Hinata nor Izuru Kamukura.

So, who should he be if he cannot emulate either correctly anymore?

“It doesn’t matter who you were or who you should be, it’s who you choose to be, despite everything so far… I think…”

“...That is a flawed preconception. You cannot make correct judgement without knowing everything.”

“Then is living as Hinata-kun a mistake? Is that what you are trying to say to **yourself**?”

He fell silent.

“You don’t need to rationalize everything and you don’t have to be someone because of what they did. Just because you think like Kamukura-kun doesn’t mean you are him, or just because Hinata-kun won your “game” doesn’t mean that you are obligated to be him. Do you…understand what I’m saying here? You have to follow what your heart tells you, but you keep on hindering it with logic. If you do that, you’ll go back to doubting yourself all the time. Your talent will be useless if you aren’t confident with yourself.”

They seated beside him and looked at him with an understanding smile.

“Don’t let names label you. You are who you are.”

And just like nothing happened, they disappeared in the blink of an eye. He still doesn’t understand what their words meant, but now he knows for sure who he is.

He's still Hajime Hinata, despite everything so far, and he will stick with that name because he wants to. Logic did not dictate his decision, _he_ did. He was under no obligation to live with that name, except for personal agenda. He _wanted_ to be Hajime Hinata, there's just no putting it any other way.

Besides, that name suited him better.

* * *

Even at this time, the lights remained switched on. To comment further on their blatant waste of valuable resources is pointless nitpicking on his part, but he thinks of it as something that is inherent – an involuntary habit for making an effort to reserve vocal judgement from others.

With no difficulty, he retraced his steps back to the room where the pods continued to drone and whir with the liquid inside them. His and his four other companions’ pods were shut tightly and utterly empty. The remaining eleven lit-up pods still had the comatose bodies of the remnants, but even beyond the transparent plastic covering, he sees the improperly attached transplants rotting away. They all ran under a time limit, when, if it struck down, their bodies would get infected with the rotting attachments. On the slim possibility where they wake up with no outside interference, they will not last three days at most.

"Come to pay respects to the ones you've destroyed?"

Hajime glanced to his side. "...Ever the asshole, aren't you Togami?"

"Hmph. I know what you're plotting, Kamukura. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough despair for us all now?”

"How boring. Pretending to hide your spite for me by feigning righteousness, you couldn't be more similar to a tiny dog growling at a lion. You may justify your greatness with your past, but it is as dead as your Togami Corporation. You don't matter in the slightest."

"Tch...! I am a Togami! I am destined for greatness and I will not allow a _failure_ to—"

"Both of you, that's enough!"

Both men looked behind them then saw a woman holding down the scion's hand that tried to reach for the gun in his holster and Kyoko _correctly_ aiming her gun towards Hajime.

“…Looks like we made it in time, Kirigiri-san.” The woman let out a faint sound of relief, but clearly out of breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted your intuition like that…”

“Confiscate his gun, Anami-san.” Kyoko ordered swiftly, not sparing a response to her companion’s apology.

“Idiot…” the woman flinched from Byakuya’s spat and sudden movement as she pulled his gun away. “…How conceited must you be to think that _you_ can disable him?!”

“I could ask you the same question, Togami-kun.” The detective countered, her cold tone seething in anger. “You were supposed to check up on the others. We specifically told you to stay away from him—“

“And what?” He quickly retorted without missing a beat. “Let him do whatever he wants in this control room – where he could very well wake those criminals up, brainwashed, and slaughter all of us in this godforsaken island?”

“That won’t happen. You _know_ it won’t happen.”

Whatever that meant, that was enough to finally make him relent. “Tsk! This gambit of yours will crash and burn, Kirigiri.”

“Not if you don’t do anything stupid.”

Shoving the other woman away from him, he stormed outside the room. 

“Make sure he’s doing his job, Anami-san.” Kyoko lowered her gun with no hesitation and placed it back in her holster. “I’ll handle this for now.”

She complied without a word and briskly exited the premises. Hajime’s gaze then turned towards the unarmed detective, trying to predict what ulterior motives she had; it was as Byakuya had stated: she cannot disable him with or without a gun. Any physical force used to restrain him would be for naught.

"You seem pretty confident. For a detective such as you." He added for no reason whatsoever. "I wonder if that _other_ Ultimate Hope rubbed off his reckless optimism on you..."

"I never thought of you as the ponderous one," she chuckled, "I always assumed you knew the answers to these things."

"I try not to." He diverted his attention towards the other sleeping remnants. "But there are also some things that elude me so. Things that you and the others know."

"Such as?"

"How would I tell you what I don't know?"

"Then... I can't really tell you anything if that's the case."

"...The program." He mumbled that mostly to himself.

"What about the program?"

“You were supervising the program from the outside, hence the extra pods there.” He gave a quick glance to the four additional open pods outside the circle of fifteen to prove his point. “I want to know what exactly happened.”

She pondered to herself for a long while. “…Although only one of us ever saw _everything_ in the Neo World Program, I suppose my input should suffice. Any digital footage is useless because of the forced shutdown, so there’s that…”

“So, the forced shutdown was the reason why we can remember nary a thing after we entered…” he sighed in disappointment. “…In the end, things ended conveniently for you and the others. You entered the program and convinced us to terminate the simulation from the inside.”

“As I’ve said, only one of us witnessed the last moments of the program.” She argued. “Half the mystery is knowing what happened, and the other half is knowing how it happened.”

“Alright, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. For now, the program…”

Kyoko took a long breath and started to summarize every event that transpired in the simulation.

”…After you guys entered the Neo World Program, everything was going according to plan. The observer with the teacher role was having some difficulties getting you to adjust to your new reality, especially for your avatar, but that was to be expected. After all, it makes sense that all of you were shocked with the fact that you were suddenly transported to an unknown tropical island from the academy, all under the guise of a school trip.”

”Eventually, the majority of you warmed up to the new world. Everyone was now collecting the Hope Fragments and starting to bond… well, until the virus usurped Usami’s authority as the headmaster and remade the school trip to emulate the killing game that we were forced to participate in. It was accurate too, scarily accurate. The virus branded one of the observers as the “traitor” and made sure that we, the previous participants of the killing game, would notice the similarities, intentionally goading us to enter the simulation and save you all from suffering the same fate.”

”We tried to stop program from the outside, but the virus was far more powerful than we thought. Our commands were being overridden and it blocked us from entering at every turn. We couldn’t risk your safety by cutting off the power as well. We were running out of the options, so we were forced to watch you guys murder each other in futility. We watched as Hanamura-kun stabbed the Ultimate Impostor relentlessly…”

_…Nineteen stab wounds…various kitchen tools and other blades used as murder weapons…a young couple and their son…skewered together by a spear through the abdomen…two of them barely conscious but in extreme anguish…a rancid piece of flesh lay on a metal chopping board…divided into five perfectly cut slices…_

_…Multiple bodies detected…faces burned beyond recognition…heads bludgeoned until they turned to mush…area is contaminated with deadly toxins…one woman is currently suffocating under the heap of corpses…screaming for help…I ended her measly life by crushing her skull with my heel…_

“…We watched as Tsumiki-san strangled Mioda-san with and slit Saionji-san’s throat, all with a despairing maniacal smile on her face…”

_…One hundred thirty-six heads and counting, ten with missing lower jaws…twenty are in a comatose state…death by asphyxiation…mercury poisoning…blood loss…multiple lacerations etched on victims’ faces, all resembling a smile…no survivors…probably committed suicide to escape trauma…_

_…Evidence of animal brutality and cannibalism detected…some wild animals were shot for self-defense…ten cases of necrosis from an improper lateral evisceration on the stomach…both animal and human entrails were plastered and mounted on the walls and benches for decorative purposes…_

“…Then there was Komaeda-kun’s—“

“STOP! Just…stop.”

Kyoko’s depictions of the murders in that killing game triggered those grotesque flashbacks. Normally, it shouldn’t have affected him, yet his sudden heavy panting and sweating proved otherwise. He looked back on the comatose bodies in the pods and he remembered how related some of their self-inflicted injuries were to their pseudo-deaths. Ibuki had a tight choker on her neck that crushed her vocal chords whenever she screamed in her songs. Teruteru had his loins deep fried.

“He” would say that they were boring. Now, he was simply disgusted and he pitied them for it.

“…Do you want me to continue?” Asked the detective.

“No…! That’s enough… thank you.”

Fortunately for Hajime, she opted not to question his out-of-turn reaction. Instead, she stood beside Hajime and joined him in examining the pods in long silence.

“…You know…” Hajime started abruptly. “…I did this to them. I killed them, twice.”

Kyoko’s head perked up in surprise. “So, the virus—“

“I promised them a world where they can live together with their _goddess_. How else could I have convinced them to be captured voluntarily?”

Hajime spoke so coldly, so guiltlessly, that it reminded the other that she was still standing next to Izuru Kamukura. From the inside however, insurmountable ice-cold guilt gripped his heart. This was the real reason he was here with the comatose bodies of the other remnants. He couldn’t sleep knowing that he made their lives a living hell. He had been forced to relive those flashbacks, emanating infinite despair within them, every time he tried to savor a moment of peace. Their schadenfreude laughs always reminded him that this would all fall on him. The death toll loomed over his mind constantly, and he knew he couldn’t bring dead people back no matter how talented he was.

How ironic. It was so cruelly ironic that it was laughable, really.

“…So you came here because you couldn’t sleep…” Kyoko stated. “…Knowing you had a hand in all their troubles.”

Hajime methodically walked over the cables and in front of the large computer with the words “SYSTEM: OFFLINE”. He still remembered where he hid the flash drive at. It stayed taped under the desk, a hiding spot so common that he knew it would be overlooked by the others in the midst of their panic. He forcefully ripped the device away from the tape and held it up for her to see.

“I should have done this a long time ago, but…”

He threw the object to the ground and stomped at it.

“I DIDN’T!”

He stomped again.

“I DIDN’T!!”

And again…

“I DIDN’T!!!”

“Then what will you do now?”

His eyes twitched towards Kyoko, like a predator locking onto its prey.

“That was in the past. You can’t just rant about your previous mistakes and expect things to change…”

_”…your situation will not change for the better no matter how much you keep blaming yourself for your shortcomings…”_

“…there is something you can still do. Unlike before, you now know what happens if you do this and that. And you can start," she placed something on the table, "with this."

"How does a pair of scissors prove your point?"

She smirked at his question. "It's standard procedure to trim your hair a bit. The others had theirs trimmed already, or haven't you noticed?"

"I didn't see the change yesterday..."

She turned and left the room after checking her watch beneath the sleeve of her jacket. She stopped at the door and looked back towards Hajime.

"They really miss their classmates, you know? But they know better than to let themselves wallow in their own despair. They're actively seeking to change themselves for their class rep's sake."

"You're advising me to follow them as well, aren't you..."

"If she was here to say this to you, instead of me, would you have tried to do the same?"

"If she _was_ alive," he spat back angrily, "I wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place, Kirigiri."

"Alright," she sighed, "it seems I have nothing more to say now. Go to the hotel lobby at the first island when you're done."

Her footsteps echoed out in the silent hallway outside. He contemplated her words and gave the scissors a once-over, opening and closing the pair just to hear the swish of the blades as it snipped the invisible thread in between. From the stainless steel of the blades, he only now took notice of how long his hair was. It covered his right eye completely with how dense it was. It didn’t bother him before. Looking at it now, it left much to be desired.

"...First, I'll need to cut this blasted thing off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the whole Hajime or Izuru thing...
> 
> It’s kinda like the cup of water dilemma. Is it half-empty or half-full? While both are correct, the choice relies heavily on interpretation. Hope Arc Hajime can either be Hajime with Izuru’s talents added or Izuru with Hajime’s personality added. Like the cup of water, he’s not COMPLETELY Hajime, but he’s not as apathetic as Izuru either. You can’t say that the cup is empty nor full, because there IS water in it.
> 
> My interpretation is that he is Izuru with Hajime’s personality added, and I tried my best to “show” it, not “tell” it.
> 
> Despite the very NSFW portrayal at the end there, I’m not gonna bump up this fic’s rating to Mature…yet. In my opinion, around 200 words worth of graphic scenes shouldn’t be enough to push this fic past the T rating as this will have a lot of chapters.
> 
> I’ll try not to beat around the bush. Chiaki is alive in this fic (HOORAY!) but whether or not the cast will see her again…
> 
> Hehehe… Who knows? She may be alive, but she may NOT be the same Chiaki as she once was. You know that I can just pull a fast one in the blink of an eye.
> 
> Or am I just pulling your leg…?
> 
> “All shall be revealed…in due time.”


	3. Set Sail!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a side note: LUKE ATMEYYYYYY!!! icon.
> 
> See what I did there? Eh? Eh? Ha…ha ha…
> 
> . . .
> 
> …Anyways, I’ll admit that I procrastinated. I was suddenly hit with the urge to play some Pokémon White 2 with some Cytus 2 and Deemo (because of the new update, heck yeah!) tossed to the mix. Because of my inability to walk a straight path, I only ever get to continue writing during my depressing biology summer class. I took out my frustrations on the pen as it kept me from ranting how this class is an utter waste of my time when I could be doing more productive things, like CONTINUING THIS FIC, for instance. I have a 4.0 GPA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! WHY DO I STILL NEED TO MEET THE FRIGGIN CREDIT REQUIREMENT?! THE TEACHER’S NOT EVEN TEACHING ANYTHING IN THE FIRST PLACE! HOW DO YOU EXPECT THOSE WITH MISSING CREDITS OR BRAIN CELLS TO LEARN ANYTHING IN THE FIRST PLACE?! ITS JUST WRITING ESSAY AFTER ESSAY AFTER ESSAY WITH A _**PAGE REQUIREMENT**_!!! BULL****! AT LEAST MAKE SOME EFFORT TO BE A GOOD TEACHER FFS! DON’T TEACH US ABOUT JOBS AND WHAT THE REAL WORLD IS! I DON’T GIVE A F*** ABOUT WHICH SCHOOL OR PROFESSION IS THE BEST! IT’S A BIOLOGY CLASS, NOT ECONOMICS! 
> 
> *ahem*
> 
> Ranting aside, since I took some time off to play those games, I gained new material to incorporate into this fic.

With one last snip, the last overgrown lock on Hajime’s head had glided down to the sea of flowing black on the floor. Throughout the whole procedure, he only used the blades of the scissors as a makeshift mirror. An unorthodox one, sure, but it did the job. Obviously, he would know where every minuscule speck of dirt, every piece that needed to be cut off, and every curl that required uncurling were on his long hair.

Using the scissors again as a mirror, he judged his work. It was a perfect recreation of his old hair, for sure. Although it was now dyed black instead of its natural color, he thought it wouldn’t matter that much. To go through the trouble of getting hair dye would just be a complete waste of time. There was no guarantee that such a thing existed on this island anyways because of its impracticality. Like Kyoko said, the hair dye is not necessarily part of the procedure, only the trim.

He then angled the reflection towards his face and reeled in awe at what he saw. It's been a long time since he last saw his eyes, and now that the hair covering one of them is gone, he could gawk at the unnatural change.

His right eye gleamed brighter than his left for its shiny green luminescence. His left held the more intense color – a darkly glowing red akin to a star nearing its death, a red that became duller than its crimson red past. This phenomena was something he could not rationalize if he compartmentalized his thinking. His common sense states that this difference stemmed from a birth defect, an inconsequential hiccup in the formation of the genes. A contradiction lies within that fact. He was not recently born. He was, however, "born" twice, and it was at the second time that both his eyes changed— no, perhaps "changed" isn't the right term; it was more of..."masked". The red masked the green when he became Izuru. And as always, he already unraveled the answer to this mystery without breaking a sweat. The result of the simulation partially reversed some of the modifications done to his body, namely the color of his eyes.

He sheathed the pair of scissors back inside its cover and thought of going to the hotel lobby on the first island. A muscle cramped inside his head, reminding him of the mess he made on the floor. He grinned to himself as he rubbed circles on his left temple. He definitely knew that his subconscious was ordering him to sweep up the scattered pieces of hair. It sounded like how his father would order him to clean his room when he was younger. That memory wasn't...anything special in particular, not when he would talk down on Hajime, cursing his utter helplessness and lack of talent.

_"...When will you ever stop being so unremarkable, boy..."_

_"...Goddamn it... WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE MY SON?!!"_

_"...You're a disgrace, you good-for-nothing brat..."_

_"...What a stupid, worthless, piece of trash... you're just as useless as that stupid whore who can't even get me my GODDAMN BEER!!!"_

He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tight to repress the anger and frustrations that boiled in him. The past has passed, and his father is in a place where he won't destroy his self-esteem. With a few deep breaths, he managed to calm his nerves down and assert his blank face once more. He grabbed the broom and dust pan, placed together at the opposite side of the room, and swept up the place. He decided to clean the dust that collected in the unlit corners of the room... 

...well, _just for added good measure_.

He continued to brush across the room with the broom and dustpan at hand, mixing hair and dust in the pan. With the trash bin beside the table being filled to the brim with balls of crumpled paper, he thought of disposing the papers first before doing anything else. With the bin at bay, he went inside his temporary room and poured the whole bin of papers into the other one. A single ball of crumpled paper rolled out of the pile and landed softly on the floor. He crouched down and picked up the odd one out.

_Open it._

Curious, he unrolled the crumpled-up ball of paper and smoothened out the creases to make the handwriting more legible.

_"...the rope had wears and tears on it, and it wasn't on the loop used by Mioda-san either... note: the rope is from the market... they said that the market restocks regularly and often too..."_

_"...the stepladder from the footage has some differences with the one found at the crime scene... isn't there a missing bloodstain on that stepladder?"_

_”…Mioda-san died before Saionji-san(?)… but why kill two people? What’s the motive?”_

Based from what he gathered, this seemed to be someone else's notes during the investigations after the murders. In this case, this was their notes on the third investigation. How odd... they were supposed to have access to the surveillance cameras all around the island. They should already know who the culprit was, so wouldn't that defeat the purpose of taking notes with the intention of solving the murder?

He crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the bin. He scavenged through the rest of the papers, smoothening out their creases and skimming through them before crumpling them up and tossing them back in the bin. Sure enough, they weren't just notes for the investigations, they also contained some impertinent information about the remnants, except for his. It divulged more on Peko's connection with Fuyuhiko, Gundham's mother, Nagito's health condition when he was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy and more that he won't bother listing. Either this someone wanted to immerse themselves in the killing game (and why would they want to do that in the first place?) or that they simply had a habit of note-taking, like Kyoko but with ADD, judging from their doodles and pointless comments alongside the notes.

Although this investigation on the investigations took a considerable amount of time off, it _wasn't_ a complete waste of time either. It actually made him remember some tidbits in the program. Nothing too important, unfortunately. He still had much to do today, and that included doing whatever Makoto and the others ordered. To be more accurate, he and the others weren’t at their mercy; disobeying them would escalate towards a major inconvenience since he gets the hint that they had a plan for them.

He nee— _wanted_ to know whatever that was.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, he finally tasted the air outside. The sun shined brightly on Jabberwock Island and that said something. Hajime rubbed his eyes to readjust them to the extreme change in lighting. The stinging feeling of the bright rays on his eyes felt somewhat comparable to throwing a bucketful of ice water on his face – it made your face hard.

Speaking of ice, he could use something to drink right now. Who knows how long it’s been since he had a refreshing beverage? The sweltering tropical heat did not help a tiny bit. A drought struck the insides of his mouth. Salivating could not, and _definitely_ not, quench his thirst for any kind of refreshment. The idea of lounging on a chair under a shade while sipping on some juice felt tempting. 

Once he takes his hands off his eyelids, the first thing that greeted his eyes was a young pale girl with long milk white hair, with a hint of carnation mixed in, that grew over her shoulders approaching him from the stony path in front. She took off her spectacles that revealed her eyes so dreadfully devoid of life and color in them then blinked at him, and he blinked back.

This conversation was off to a great start it seems.

“Hi…” the girl started with a meek voice, “ …er...Kamukura-kun, right?”

He felt slightly annoyed to repeat himself time and time again. He thought the land had ears? “…Please refer to me as Hinata.”

“Mm, Hinata...Hinata...Hinata..." she played with her hair for a while using her glasses as a brush. "...That's a nice name." She then reached her hand out in front of him with a small smile on her lips. "Mine's Anami Yukito. Nice to meet you, Hinata-kun!"

He took her hand, strangely callous for someone of her slightly stout physique, and shook it. "...Nice to meet you too, Anami... Wait, weren't you the one with Kirigiri back then?"

"Oh... yeah, I was." She pointed towards her head. “I didn’t notice the new haircut, so maybe that’s why I didn’t notice you at first.”

After that, they broke their handshake and continued to stare at each other. Yukito put on her glasses again. As she did that, his eyes sensed how her fingers twitched every ten seconds. She visibly tried to hide it from him to attempt to appear more presentable to him.

"Hey..." the sound of her voice forced his focus back to her colorless orbs. "...You're going to the hotel right? Wanna come? I'm going there too..."

Hajime shrugged in nonchalance. "...I don't see why not."

He knew the layout of Jabberwock Island like the back of his hand, so he didn’t need to follow her lead at all. Side by side, they strolled together under the hot sun, with Yukito shielding herself under Hajime’s shadow and her light pink hoodie. Even with all that, she still stirred uneasily with every step she took. She bowed her head so low that her face was completely hidden under her hoodie. How she got to him in the first place might as well have been a miracle. She looked like she was ready to trip or collapse at any moment.

“Hot…” she panted, “…so hot…”

“Do you need to take a break? You don’t seem very well…”

“N-No…thank you. It’s just… I haven’t been used to this kind of weather in a long time, y’know?”

He solemnly nodded at that. Any sane person wouldn’t want to go out while chaos and discord ravaged the world outside the safe embraces of refuge. She’d stick out as a sore thumb the moment she stepped outside while wearing that bright hoodie, yet seeing as she was one of the lucky few to survive those long grueling years, she fought through tooth and nail to get to her workplace, restock on supplies, and back home. That wasn’t even including the stench of putrid rot and the incessant screams for mercy she had to endure every night just to get a wink's worth of sleep.

How he knew all that just from this one walk must have come naturally. His mind allowed him see the world through her eyes, desensitized to violence and death. In a way, he was able to sympathize with this girl.

“We’re nearing the bridge.” Hajime informed. “A little bit more and we’ll be by the hotel soon enough.”

“Oh… hey, can I tell you something, Hinata-kun?”

He slowed down his pace. “…You are now.”

“…That wasn’t what I was going to say though…?”

“Calm down…” he replied disappointedly, “I was just trying to make a joke.”

“Ah…” she said, letting the sound hang off her mouth before ending it with an, “Oops.”

“…So, what were your going to say?”

“…Today, my superiors will be leaving cuz they have to answer back to HQ about what Naegi-kun did. They said they’ll try to keep them off of your trail, but there’s a chance that they’ll come and…kill you guys. Obviously, we don’t want that to happen. Naegi-kun placed a lot of trust that you guys will be rehabilitated before anything bad happens, and I trust you guys too, but Kirigiri-san and Togami-kun…they…”

“Don’t worry, I get it. They don’t want to leave a lot of things up to chance, do they? That seems more like them.”

“…Yeah. And because of that, I have to stay. Basically, I’ll be kinda like your therapist, except that I don’t really have a license for that sort of thing…”

He stopped. “You? _You_ will help _us_? How idiotic. I’d rest easier if a _real_ therapist handled the job if I were Kirigiri or Togami.”

“I didn’t have a choice in this. And even if I did have, I’d still want to try and help you guys.”

“Don’t try to play the hero, Anami.” He have a sideways glance towards Yukito, clenching the jagged object in his fist. “…People who do that…die alone in cold desolation…”

“Hinata-kun…” she held her hand close to her chest and looked at him, her expression both sorrowful and sympathetic, like she wanted to come closer and tell him that it’s alright.

But they both knew that that couldn’t be further from the truth. Those moments remained burned in his mind whenever he closed his eyes. He can’t just forget about _her_ , he would be spitting on _her_ grave if he did. He had to live with that until the moment his heart stops beating.

Indeed, she came closer to him and held his hand firmly. “I’ll promise I’ll help you guys move past this despair. I don’t know how, but I _know_ we’ll get there.” They both looked forward and noticed that they were still on the bridge. “Let’s go, they’re waiting for us.”

The two continued on towards the front of the hotel entrance, where, as always, Makoto stood by the swimming pool’s fringes waving at them with the hopeful expression on his face visible even from afar. He couldn’t help but feel a little optimistic after seeing these two. Though, that didn't make the future any more uncertain, and that gets scary sometimes if he was being honest with himself.

”Things are easier said than done, Anami,” he muttered, observing Yukito pressing on forward thinking that he was still by her side, “For your sake, I hope you realize that.”

* * *

If memory served him right, not once has Hajime stepped foot inside this building. As soon as he and the others opened the doors, the humid wind entered with them, letting the curtains flap upwards and brightening the cool hotel lobby with the sun outside. The people inside all turned their heads to see who just made a theatric entrance. The irremovable scorn on Byakuya’s face, that tiny all-knowing smirk that Kyoko gave, and the varying looks of surprise coloring Akane, Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi and Sonia’s faces greeted them.

“Couldn’t you have made it any earlier?” complained Byakuya, griped by their tardiness. “You’ve wasted enough of our time already.”

“Then let’s not waste any more of it.” Kyoko chimed in, furrowing her eyebrows at the scion. “Naegi-kun, if you would please start…”

With a nod, Makoto and Yukito joined their friends while Hajime joined his. “…As you all should know by now, we can’t stay here any longer. Because of what we did, I’m now just as much of a criminal as you guys in the eyes of the Future Foundation, and we virtually have nowhere else to run without risking any of you being recaptured. Knowing them, I’d be put on trial…”

While Makoto continued to reiterate what Yukito relayed to Hajime not so long ago, he observed how the others shared the same look of frustration and helplessness. They can’t do anything to keep the Future Foundation away from Makoto unless they trade places with him. It seems like he had explained to them beforehand why he should be the one to go instead.

Of course, Hajime thought of volunteering himself to finally prove that he, too, was Ultimate Hope; but he’d rather not waste any more time arguing with them. They were dead set on this course to judgement. Makoto was already willing to be executed for the sake of the former Despairs.

_…More innocent people sacrificing themselves… For our sakes, no less…_

Even now, more people continue to die because of what they did.

“But…” Sonia raised her hand, “…what if Naegi-san does get…executed? What happens then?”

Byakuya chortled at her question. “No need to be worrisome, princess. Naegi has a knack for brushing off death whenever it suits him best.”

“What the…” Kazuichi looked at him with eyes as wide as plates. “…So you’re not gonna even consider the possibility of him dying?!”

“Of course we _are_ going to consider it.” Kyoko answered, not giving away a hint of trepidation at the notion. “We will continue to stave the higher-ups off of this island. They don’t know that we kept you all hidden here.”

“And don’t even bother trying to undermine our abilities.” Byakuya added. “Remember, we defeated an insane mastermind at her own game. Those barbaric buffoons pale in comparison to her cunning. Rest assured, they won’t get to lay a finger on this island for two years tops, under _my_ leadership no less.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, we get it,” Akane droned on, “you’ll fight them to the death or whatever you’re good at… BUT! You’re forgetting the most important thing!”

“Which is?”

“FOOD!” Akane angrily slammed her hands on top of one of the arcade machines. “Are you just gonna leave us here to starve?! These coconuts can’t keep us full forever! We’re obviously gonna need more than that!”

 _Correction: **You’re** gonna need more than that._ Hajime jokingly thought to himself.

“Ah, that!” Makoto worried look was replaced with relief. “We have someone from the 13th Division to handle it. A ship will come here to restock the island’s supplies every two months starting next week.”

“And how many people can this island support?” Fuyuhiko asked.

“Sixteen people, just like in the simulation—"

"Granted,” said Byakuya, cutting off Makoto, “the lot of you don't hog it all up."

“Sixteen, huh…” A smile grew on the yakuza’s face. “…So they _are_ waking up!”

Their faces lit up in succession. Just when their fates looked bleak, the prospect of their friends waking up from their deep sleep gave them hope—

“…I’m sorry… but that’s not gonna happen anytime soon…”

“…Y-You’re joking…” said Kazuichi with a shaky tone, “…I-I mean, that was just a s-simulation right? Th-They’re not really… are they…?”

“Don’t say it… Don’t you FUCKING dare say it. THEY’RE STILL—“

“ **No, they aren’t**. They won’t wake up, not now, not _**ever**_.”

Those sharp words from Byakuya took the form of knives and stabbed them all in the heart at the height of their jubilance. Their faces, once bright, looked at his stern face with incredulity, in denial of the truth he presented, but he wasn’t lying…nor had he hoped that that wasn’t the case. He, along with his companions and Hajime most of all, knew how realistic the simulation was.

“Are we done here? If so…” Byakuya sharply turned his back towards the others. “…then we must take our leave. We can not afford to waste any more time. Come now, you two.”

Makoto shook his head. “I’ll stay here… for a while. You two can go ahead.”

Byakuya let out an annoyed sigh. “…Fine, go work your magic on them. Do _not_ be late this time, Naegi.”

Makoto watched as the two left the lobby. As soon as they were completely gone, he took a deep breath and addressed the distressed crowd.

“Is it true, Naegi-san…?” asked Sonia, on the verge of tears, “…will they never come back…?”

“…To be honest, I’m not completely sure myself. Knowing the virus, it probably went through some lengths to make sure they stay asleep, but the program itself is wonky at best. The fact that your minds are resisting the brainwashing proves that anything can happen.”

“Then why…? Why did Togami-san say that?”

“Because he’s an asshole…” answered Fuyuhiko. “…Not that I blame him though. We tried to kill him and the others when we first woke up. The bastard wanted to get back at us." He glanced towards Makoto for a moment. "...Sorry. Again."

"D-Don't worry about it, Kuzuryu-kun!" He beamed... sheepishly. "I mean, we should have expected as much. We just didn't think you'd be that violent..."

The sound of nails rapidly tapping on glass broke the suffocating silence. Hajime looked over to who was making that sound and saw Akane resting her chin on her palm while her other hand continued to tap on the glass case of the arcade machines. Her attention wavered from the plant at the far side of the room to the staircase.

"...So... what happens now?" Kazuichi asked, deflated. "...What else is there to do...?"

"Hey, have some hope. You guys will think of something. I just know it."

And there’s that blind optimism again, always believing that in the bright side of things at the end of the tunnel. Even if their classmates were beside them right now…

…Indeed, what else is there to do?

“Well… I guess it’s time for me to go now…” Makoto waved everyone goodbye, holding the door open and bracing himself to face the hardships that awaited him. “…Until next time, everyone.”

Just like that, the door slowly closed itself and he had fully disappeared from sight. The urge to return his goodbye dissipated within them. What Makoto left behind for them came in the form of a girl, Yukito. Everyone else was just too disheartened to notice her standing among them.

“Come on,” she said, nudging everyone by the hand, “let’s go eat first. We’ve got a long day ahead.”

One by one, they dragged their feet upstairs in silence, like lost souls in the River Styx.

* * *

Admittedly, the breakfast helped lift up the mood. Akane’s appetite was as healthy as ever, and it urged everyone to enjoy their food with her. They all sat close to each other, with the girls comfortably seated at one side of the table closest to the stairs and the boys at the other end.

Hajime, for once, decided to start the conversation. “…How long has it been since everyone woke up?”

“Two days...” Yukito answered. “…I think…?”

Sonia gave a nod to reaffirm her answer. “Yes, I believe so. You were the last to wake up, Hinata-san.”

“No offense but…” Fuyuhiko set down his chopsticks and pushed his plate away to set his arms down. “…What’s up with the eyes?”

“This?” Hajime held his finger close to his right eye. “It’s a side effect from the program.”

“Heh, that’s cool. At least you didn’t have someone gouge it out for you…twice.”

“Urp…!” Kazuichi doubled over his plate and covered his mouth. “I’m still eating, man! What the hell!”

The mechanic’s outburst was met with laughters from the company. He planted his elbow on the table and frowned at everyone.

“Oh, by the way,” Yukito started, “are your wounds starting to heal, Soda-kun?”

He shakily took off his beanie, revealing a large scar that travelled across the top of his head made visible by a massive bald spot. Splotches of black and red coated the fringes of his pink dyed hair. The accessory did a great job of hiding those marks from sight. 

"Does it still hurt?"

Unlike before, he hurriedly put his beanie back. "Not really. Though, it gets itchy when something touches it.”

“At least it’s starting to recover, right? It definitely looks better than before…”

“Yeah, the cream really helped. Thanks.”

“Hm. How about you, Owari-san? Is your stomach feeling any better now?”

She hummed while she continued to gobble up the food in front of her. “…Om nom nom… I’ve been shgittingh a lotsh lately…” She swallowed. “…It's like the old man said, **'Eat well, shit well'**!”

Akane's imitation provoked some laughter from them. At one point, Kazuichi tried a little too hard to stifle his laughter that some of the cola went out through his nose and into his fish. Then the little giggles exploded into blown out hysterical cackling.

Meanwhile, Hajime silently ate his breakfast in comfortable silence. He had a feeling that this was going to be the first of the many moments they would share together. Just this once, they happily enjoyed this communal meal, forgetting what Byakuya forcefully shoved to their faces and living the moment. 

But he didn't.

He simply couldn't.

Having the ability to know and store a lot of information, like a machine, cursed him to always remember what others would die to forget. Although these laughs were no longer sick and twisted with sadism, those stuck with him.

Then again, maybe they haven't really forgotten those mental scars as well and it was this exact moment that truly separated him from his fellow remnants.

No matter how much he told himself to stop living in the past, he found it difficult to do so.

Out of all these people, perhaps he was the most naïve one.

He forced out a laugh to blend in with the others and quickly drank his soup. He made a mental note to thank Kazuichi later for providing comic relief, at the cost of his own sanity. He thought of enjoying these folks to get used to seeing them here everyday.

* * *

After their first breakfast together, they scattered and went about their own agenda. Yukito suggested that they meet up at the second floor at the same time to help rebuild their broken bonds—

...not that they were really _broken_ in the first place.

Hajime had the rest of the day for free time. At first, he thought about spending it with Kazuichi then Yukito, with no intentions of bonding with them at all. While he continued to wander around the tropical island, he began to scheme, and that required some more people to manipulate. A mechanic and a representative who is affiliated with the Future Foundation were key for his plan to work. However, the final phase of this scheme needed all fifteen of the remnants to be alive.

This would be his final scheme – the _very_ last time he manipulated people. After that, he would leave them in this island, in this place they call paradise. By then, he would no longer have any business with them.

He stopped at the pier when he saw a large ship docked at bay and three people walking towards it, conversing with each other. The instant they boarded, the ship sailed, drifting further and further beyond into the ever coruscating crystal blue sea of Jabberwock Island. The fresh tropical breeze tickled his skin and lulled him to sleep. It was comforting – therapeutic, even – to simply stand here and gaze beyond the unreachable horizon before the artificial Ultimate. Then soon enough, the ship vanished; all that remained are the soapy beads that trailed, clashing with the restless tides until the very last bubble popped, and the waves continued to nibble ever so slightly on the pier he stood on.

 _...Such is the course of nature,_ is what Gundham would say, and to that, Hajime agrees. Nature is just as unpredictable and uncertain as the future. Like the endless sea, the tides of fate can change course any time, any place. Whether you live a boring uneventful life, or a more interesting one; the waters will never sit still. When you least expect it, the ocean might open up and swallow you whole, or a typhoon might rage and push your weak sailboat off-course. One can't always step back or stay out to avoid such things. There will come a time when the indecisive must take a step forward and choose to where their ship would sail. But that doesn't mean they'll get there. What lies at the end can be a satisfying resolution, or the complete opposite.

_…It doesn’t hurt to have a little hope, right?_

That’s what Chiaki would say.

The time to set sail has come; and with it, their daily lives – filled with absurdities and irrationalities – have truly begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I made a big mistake, I hope no one will notice it...
> 
> I decided to end it right here for now. The next chapter’s going to be juicy and interesting, I guarantee.
> 
> Well, _interesting_ for my garbage standards. 
> 
> See you till then! (OvO)


	4. Sand Castles and Sand Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/W: Minor gore and torture, if you squint real hard, up ahead!
> 
> (Strike two, Destux. Better bump up the fic’s rating if you do it again)

“…Umm… are you busy…?”

Hajime blinked. Twice. Thrice. Suddenly, the salty air poked his eyes and he blinked again.

He looked back and saw Yukito with her hood anxiously fiddling with the sides of her coffee colored skirt. The stark contrast of scenery pulled him back to his senses and by then had he realized how long he stood there and watched…nothing. Thinking about it now, he spent an entire hour gawking at the sea.

Such a nauseating change of colors…

“…I wasn’t in the first place.” Hajime replied, managing to remove the bits of sand caught in his eyelashes. “What brings you here anyway?”

“I actually forgot to show you to your cottage.” She tugged at her skirt. “Do you—“

“Hold it. You’re forgetting something again.”

“H-Huh?”

“You do know I still have some things back at my old room. I imagine you searched for me the instant you remembered something.”

“Oh… Let’s go there first… I guess…”

As he retraced his steps back to the central island, he stole a handful of furtive glances at the anxious girl beside him. Her face may be covered by her hood, but the body tells all. She walked at a slow pace, always trailing behind him or under his shadow. Her shoes tapped, patterned, against the road to the bridge; her strides very careful and methodical. He had an inkling that she had a very nervous habit of brushing her fingers on her sides in a swiping motion, still noticeable even with her fingers closed.

"Things often slip our minds when we are stressed," said Hajime, "it's something I noticed when you're with me."

She sighed. "...Yep, you're right... ( _...ju... ike... ays..._ )"

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

He lowered his eyebrow and kept his pace. On their way to the central island, they crossed paths with Akane, glistening and reeking of sweat from sprinting for an hour non-stop. As she noticed them, she took her eyes off the road and waved her hand, flashing them a huge grin before diving off the bridge and into the sea.

The main building eventually came into view, but Yukito seems to not have noticed it. Hajime grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back towards him before her face kissed the wall. She tensed up from the sudden shift of weight. With his hand still firmly planted on her shoulder, he sensed her heart drawing closer to bursting. Her pulse—

"Please don't do that again...!" Yukito exclaimed sharply, panic rising within her as the urgent plea of her voice shriveled with it. "Please... Hinata-kun... I can't... m-my heart...!"

He slowly released his grip and took a step back in disgust of himself.

_What was that just now?!_

He had a momentary compulsion to impede her with force rather than using his voice. The reason behind it must have completely passed by him now that it happened.

_No... That's not what's important! I have to check on her!_

The girl took refuge by the entrance, presumably to stay away from the heat, and held her fist close to her chest, heaving in deep labored breaths. Her face was flushed with a beet-red color. These symptoms indicated that she is dyspneic. Her condition worsened with a provoked episode of hyperventilation.

"...You need to lie down for a while," Hajime stated, "your heart rate is abnormally high."

Her breathing stabilized a little as she nodded at his instructions. More concerned than ever, Hajime kept a close eye on her while navigating through the powered-down building to locate his old room. There was a lack of ventilation in this building, he noticed. The heat could be detrimental to her health. Naturally, since no one else is here to do it for her, he has to cool her down himself.

As soon as they arrived, Yukito immediately plopped down on the bed, her glasses plopping down from her forehead to her chest as she turned on her side. Hajime brushed his fingers at her neck so he wouldn't stir her to panic again. He felt his right cheek twitch as her skin felt hot to the touch – 38.5 degrees Celsius; above normal body temperature. Nevertheless, he sighed in relief now that he won't have to worry about another increase to the body count. Now, he needs to find a way to provide idle air ventilation to keep her cool.

"You shouldn't scare me like that..." said Yukito, exasperated.

"...I..." He paused, gathering his thoughts to rationalize what happened. "...It just...happened..."

"What?"

"I don't know... I really don't. I'm sorry by the way... ( _...but it felt like—_ )"

"...Here." The sound of keys chimed as it made contact with something plastic. "The keys to your cottage. It only works for yours, just so you know."

He took the object and eyed it. Its structure looks no different from any other door key, except instead of having multiple jagged teeth, it had one long thin cylindrical tooth with a little circular hole at the end.

"So, after you've fully rested, what are you going to do?"

"...Nothing."

He turned his inquisitive eyes towards the girl. "What happened to _'helping the others'_?"

"...I didn't say I wasn't gonna do anything about it. Besides, I've done my part. They're getting closer to accepting what they've done. All, except one. You know who that _one_ is, right?"

"…"

"…Maybe I’m wrong. I don't really know what's going on inside your brain, but unlike the others, I see that you don't have anyone else to console to. Everybody has their old classmates as a reminder of the most important time of their lives..."

"Even so, that's all in the past. All I have to do is to continue to live for...her."

"Yeah, that's true. But do you think that's all there is in the future? To just continue living for the departed?"

"..."

"The way you're going with that in mind, is towards a path of solitude... I think. And no one’s gonna wait for you at the end of it. No end goal. No reward. No self-gratification. Is that what you want?”

“You…”

“…I’m sorry if what I’m saying isn’t helping. Someone like me…can only do so much. I can’t just _will_ things to happen.”

Then, there it appeared in front of him – the very contradiction in her words; the sound of bitter irony registering for Hajime eventually. She compared to that of a tragic clown, an idealist who crashed at the height of their folly. Knowing this, the girl who laid in front of him appeared to be a corpse, whose soul as hollow as her words.

Actually, it was more as if the vibrancy of her spirit was forcibly scooped out of her. And because of that, she continues to echo those words to herself back and forth like a broken record, an antique one with no value whatsoever. It’s as they’ve always said, ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul’.

_Vibrancy, huh…_

Hajime proceeded to pocket the keys. “…Answer me this question, then. What’s waiting for you at the end of the line?”

Not a word went out her mouth…for a while. As soon as he looked back at her, she finally turned to show those opaque orbs and met his gaze; only to smile to herself and look at the ceiling instead, clasping her hands together on top of her belly.

“…Our answers are more or less the same, Hinata-kun.”

* * *

The walk going back to the first island was anything but noteworthy to say the least. Hot, cold, alone, not alone, drowning, breathing, long, short, repetitive... Hajime loosened his hold on the bag, all while easing himself into autopilot.

He wondered where the others could have possibly gone. He could make some educated guesses as to where Kazuichi, Akane and Sonia headed off. For Fuyuhiko, it was a shot in the dark. Something tells him that the former yakuza heir is off brooding in his cottage while something else tells him he paid a visit to that cemetery of a building – where Yukito currently is, still lying down on that creaking bed.

That man could be doing a lot of things. He tended to stray from what is expected of him.

Speaking of people who tend to stray...

"Heya, Himaji!"

Ok, at least she didn't use his other name. "It's Hinata. Hinata Hajime."

"Whatever! Close enough."

The damp towel draped over the gymnast's shoulders and her hair flowing down freely attached to her semi-transparent unbottoned white polo shirt suggested that she had just finished her exercise, yet, as usual, she hardly showed any signs of fatigue. In fact, her eyes had a fiery spirit burning from within as she sized him up.

"Hm! You're pretty strong, aren't'cha?" She balled up the towel and tossed it aside, sending it rolling towards the sandy beach. "Let's—!"

"You would lose."

"I don't care! You're a pretty strong opponent so I gotta fight you! There's just...no other way...!"

It was Hajime's turn to examine her. As stubborn as she was, her thick yet feminine muscles didn't help cover her inability to lie. Her façade wasn't as dense as she hoped it would be and it took him no longer than a blink of an eye to see through her.

Even with that in mind, he complied with her. He intentionally handicapped himself with the bag over his right shoulder. He couldn't use that arm effectively unless he risked destroying what was inside.

"Very well," he readied himself by hiding it behind him, "if you want a fight, then I'll give you one."

"Tch... when you're gonna fight, you gotta use both your hands. Don't hold back."

"It wouldn't matter re—"

" **I SAID, _DON'T HOLD BACK!!!_** "

"...Fine," he placed the bag under the palm tree's shade, "I'll not hold back."

The moment he got into position, Akane unleashed a furious flurry of punches and kicks that were aimed towards his upper body. With how fast her legs were spinning, it send bits of sand flying. She fought like a wild animal lashing out at its prey, nothing but pure rage and energy guided her every attack. There was no grace or direction in her movement. Her strategy was to use her endurance and speed to overwhelm him from every angle.

_Simple. Throw her out of her frenzy and subdue her._

He predicted that she would use her right foot again to go for his head, so he faked getting hit at the exact time her heel was a mere inch away from his nose. Her eyes widening offered him a window of opportunity to derail her tempo. He launched himself off the ground and kicked her square in the face. Stunned, she stumbled backwards and covered her face. Hajime instantly slinked behind her and locked her in a sleeper hold, with her left arm caught in the lock as well.

"Concede."

She tried to elbow him with her free arm and claw at his face with the other but it was pointless to fight back. She was quickly losing her strength, teetering on the verge of passing out. At the last second, she tapped lightly on his arm and momentarily, he released the hold. She fell to the ground coughing and wheezing for air while he neatly brushed the dirt and droplets of water off his shirt.

"You...held...back..." Akane coughed out. "...I...told...you...not...to...hold...back...!"

"If not holding back means that I'll have to kill you, I'm not going to."

"...heh...heh heh...he—" She choked on her own laughter. "... **I guess I'll kill you myself**...!"

She rolled over her head and assumed an animalistic stance. Of course reasoning wouldn't get through her. Her sparring matches with the bulky Nekomaru Nidai proved that for him already. However, unlike those matches, this was different. The smile on her face was broken yet menacing. The energy of excitement remained, but something seemed...off about her.

It was her eyes...

It was the eyes of a ferocious killer...

The woman standing in front of him held no more traces of the former Ultimate Gymnast...

...Only a woman in _despair_. Blood red, feral, _despair_.

She cackled and charged at him with lightning speed. She immediately went to bite on his throat—

A blade swished in-between them before he could punch a hole towards her throat. Akane growled and looked towards her side only to get decked at the jaw, knocking her out cold. Hajime looked to his side as well and caught Sonia's arm by the wrist before it struck his cheek. Swiftly, the blade moved to graze his chin. A sideways glance told him that it was Fuyuhiko who held the blade.

"Using Pekoyama's blade won't kill me, you know."

He felt the tip of the blade push further under his chin. In response, he twisted the princess's wrist in two places, making her yelp in pain.

"Let. Her. Go." Fuyuhiko spat every word as his grip on the hilt tightened, preparing to shove the blade up. His sole eye started to glow red as well, struggling to resist the urge to kill Hajime on the spot just to experience the thrill of murder again.

_So that's why..._

Hajime released his tight grip, then Fuyuhiko followed suit and sheathed the blade back in its bamboo encasement. The latter then winced from a sudden sensation on his head. The pain seemed to have subsided for the meantime.

_Interesting..._

"Oi," Fuyuhiko barked out, "what the fuck happened between you two?"

Hajime gave the unconscious Akane a once-over before replying. "She wanted to "fight" me. But as you just saw, things went out of hand quickly."

"No shit... you two looked like you were gonna kill each other. You didn't answer my question though."

"So she wasn't like this before I woke up?"

"It happened once." Sonia interjected, massaging her right wrist, bitterness boiling within her tone. "Back when we all first woke up, I remember Owari-san charging straight for Kirigiri-san..."

"It wasn't just her either. We all tried to kill them. We were knocked out cold, for sure. Then I remembered..." Fuyuhiko's eye widened in shock. "Shit! It happened again, didn't it?!"

Hajime nodded at the grave implications.

"Fucking hell...! Why... JUST WHY?!"

"Calm down." Sonia commanded with the voice of authority. "If we do not want... **that** to happen again, I suggest we don't think about it any further."

"Are you saying..." He bit the side of his cheek and clicked his tongue in frustration. "...Goddamn it... she's right." Swiftly, he turned his back then left just as he arrived, taking the blade with him. "This heat's not making me think straight..."

Hajime glanced towards the princess. "Sonia, I..."

"Everything is forgiven." She stated, indifferent. "I'm afraid I have other things to attend to." She bobbed an elegant, respectful, curtsy then smiled at him. "I wish you a pleasant afternoon... Hinata-san."

Off she went for Fuyuhiko. A strong breeze brushed eastward and he observed Sonia's hair flowing to her right, showing a thick rough-looking bluish back vertical line that started on the middle of her nape going down under her clothes. Then he remembered Kazuichi's contraption that Sonia herself "requested" to build to suit her desires.

_"I'll do it...! Anything for Sonia-san! I'll even—"_

_"I shall look forward to what monstrosity you can come up with, Engineer of Despair."_

. . .

_"Oh~! Sonia-san's body! It's so horrible and disfigured! I'm... I'm so disgusted! But! But! The **despair**! Upupupupu... It makes me want to hurt her even more!_"

_"It hurts...! It hurts...so much~! Is this...how Nanami-san...felt during...her last...moments...? Haa… Haa… Haa…! So...much... **despair**! I...I want more...! I demand more, Soda-san!!! Please me, slave!"_

Feeling the slight prick of blood at the touch of his chin, he turned around and observed the unconscious Akane once more, taking note of the slowly rising tide that caressed the tip of a wandering frayed strand of dark brown hair – her hair. He picked up the balled up towel beside her and slung the bag he placed under the palm tree over his right shoulder.

_Whatever should I do for you, you troublesome woman?_

* * *

“…Ugh…”

“Right on schedule. Did you have a long comfy nap, Owari?”

He didn’t even need to look behind him to know that she was glaring daggers at him. Besides, he had to make use of his time as efficiently as possible to get his plan started.

“You…! I’m not finished with— Ugh! MY HEAD!!!”

Hajime let out a tired sigh. He placed on some custom made headphones and clicked away at the program on his laptop. He had expected this to happen after monitoring her brainwaves while she was unconscious. He then played out the sound file on his laptop. He waited awhile in the silence provided by the headphones. He took it off and looked over his shoulder to record the results of his side experiment.

“Feeling any better now?”

She returned his question with another muffled groan. Any noisier, and he would’ve marked it as a “no”.

_…A success then…_

He went back to the first program and continued typing away at the keyboard.

“…Whe—“

“You’re inside your cottage. You didn’t even bother to hide the key so I let myself in to let you rest.”

She continued to ponder to herself. “…What? Aren’t you gonna leave me now?”

He paused momentarily, gathering his thoughts on the multiple routes this conversation could go to. “After what you did, any other person would’ve done so.”

“Then why are ya still here then?! Get out!”

“You’re horrible at hiding your emotions, just so you know.”

“Can it or I’ll—“

“Kill me? Go ahead. I won’t try to fight back.”

“What the…?” The utter confusion in her mind oozed from her voice.

“Well? What are you waiting for? The opportunity presents itself in front of you. Seize it.”

Even as he said that, he made no attempt to stop what he was doing, but she did. She hesitated. “I don’t know… This just feels…wrong.”

“What is it about doing what you want that feels wrong to you?”

“It’s…” The words died on her mouth, coming out as mere murmurs. “…I can’t explain it, ok?! I’m not some super genius like you!”

“It doesn’t take a “super genius” to explain.”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“You already know what’s wrong. You can’t just admit it to be true because it contradicts with what you knew.” He pressed the “Enter” key. “And suddenly, when you start thinking about it, your mind and heart becomes agitated, frustrated, angry. By that point, you had already given in to the easy way out.”

“I don’t understand what you’re ramblin’ about... You’re not makin’ any sense here, y’know? There’s just…no way no one but you can come up with that crud…”

“Even when I don’t use “big words”, you still don’t understand me?” He pressed the key again. “Let me elaborate for you. “Killing” me won’t solve any of your problems. It won’t change the past. It won’t bring Nidai back. It won’t bring Nanami back. And it most certainly won’t rid you of your guilt.”

His words flowed in sync with his fingers tapping on the keyboard. Realizing he made an error in the program, he backtracked and fixed it right away.

“…Usually, it’s at this point where you would say, “my head hurts from all this thinking” and deny everything I’ve just said. Ever wondered why those didn’t happen?”

“What…did you do to me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” After saving his program and packing up his things, he stood up from his seat and finally locked eyes with Akane for the first time since she woke up. “But for now, do you still want to fight me?”

She remained squatted at her mat, the look of nonplus plastered on her features. In retrospect, his offer sounded really suspect even for a headstrong woman such as her. By all means, she can just decline it. A simple “no” and he would be on his way for the evening, leaving her with a gift that the others would surely want – treatment. However, placing logic aside, that treatment surely isn’t enough. Medication isn’t always enough when it comes to therapy. No amount of technology can properly fix troubled emotions.

Only the patient themselves has the ability to do that, not the doctor.

_”…Do you really think people are like that?! That they can recover on their own if you leave them alone?!”_

_”…”_

_”…I never thought…you’d really be like this… so dumb…”_

A spark lit up from within him, confident that she’ll accept it no matter what. They both know that they would inevitably need to face their problems head-on. It is guaranteed that she won’t back down after getting knocked out. One remarkable aspect of this feisty one is her persistence to overcome the odds stacked against her.

And she punched her palm to prove that, grinning like she was a lion in front of a buffet table. “You’re on! I needed some exercise anyways!”

He smirked back, turning his back then approaching the door before her eyes saw a hint of emotion gracing his face.

“Meet me at the same beach. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

* * *

As the day drew closer to an end, the afternoon sun sets yet again on the dark red horizon. What was supposed to be a fiery orange sky turned into a crimson polluted one. The deathly caws of crows and occasional vultures replaced the seagulls and other tropical birds. Night _was_ the perfect time for despair to strike after all. Despite the thick dark puffs that lied beyond, the air here was free from toxins. Biological life in this island continued to thrive healthily even in desolate climate.

Hajime waited while he observed the high tides of the red orange sea and the floating murky clouds. All this time, not once had he bothered to pay attention to the moon’s presence when evening approached. His mind lacked the ability to wander like clouds since he was always thinking of something important. Due to that, stargazing seemed rather dull and pointless.

_But I guess I can try…for once._

No matter how much he focused, he never caught a clear glimpse of the lustrous moon rising up from the sea’s horizon. The red shadowy skies appeared more prominent, as usual. Not a single ray of light could penetrate through the the compact barrier of smog that enveloped the sky; how much more for the inferior lunar celestial body?

Slowly, the dark night swallows the setting sun’s light, covering the golden sandy beach with a thick shade of red and dark gray. Visibility became lower, but not to the point of trying to see in a pitch black room. Based on everyone’s eyesight, Hajime concluded that there is sufficient light for everyone to navigate their way without any major accidents. Though to be fair, a few lights around the islets wouldn’t hurt.

“O-Oi!” A terrified voice echoed out from behind. “Can we start already?! I-It’s so damn d-dark in here…!”

He quickly tossed aside his bag in the same spot as before. “Of course. I admit part of me wanted to have some training under these circumstances—”

“Enough talk man! I’m definitely gonna beat you!”

Again, she barreled towards him then connected with an aerial kick. He slid to the left and maneuvered behind her. He figured he could use the lack of visibility to his advantage and wear her down the same way she did in their previous spar. Knowing that she was confused that she didn’t hit him, he struck the back of her thigh with a low kick then followed up with a roundhouse kick to the side of her head as she crouched down from the impact. His eyes followed the way she tumbled closer to the shore.

“You’re letting your fear of the dark bog your movements. Focus on your opponent.”

“…Shut up…” she retaliated as she made her way back to her feet, her eyes darting across the battlefield to find him, “…I don’t need you to tell me how to fight…!”

He sent a random seashell flying near her ankle with his foot. As soon as it made contact with her, she froze. He sped towards her and delivered a swift left uppercut then a solid right hook to send her to the left. In a daze, she let her fists fly everywhere, hitting nothing but air with the way Hajime ducked and dodged left and right as he stepped on her foot every time to push her back.

Angry, she jumped back and pounced to tackle him. He was momentarily caught off guard and took the full brunt of it, but for her, it seemed like she just tried to run through a stone wall. He readjusted his senses and elbowed her exposed back, bringing her to her knees, and kneed her in the face. Knocked to the ground again, she sprung back to her feet and went for a quick hook. He didn’t spare her a chance to continue her assault and wound up to strike her with a strong palm strike to her torso. That strike sent her flying meters away and planted her face on the sand. In his mind, he counted to ten like in boxing matches. If she wasn’t up by that time, he could safely say that he won this match, by a landslide no less.

_One._

“…”

_Two._

“…”

_Three._

“…”

_Four._

“…”

_Five…_

…Six, seven, eight, nine, ten… She never got up. He let out a disappointed breath and picked up his bag. He proved to be too much for her to handle. He even expected that by some freak turn of events, she would actually knock him down to the ground. Too bad inadequacy always marks the reason for defeat, and she was too inadequate to pull off a miracle.

“I can’t believe I have to do this again…”

* * *

Right after Hajime patched Akane up for the second time, he let out a long yawn. He realized he hadn’t properly slept for a whole day now. Rubbing his eyes, he went outside her cottage, not forgetting to lock the door before he headed towards his.

He fished the key out of his pocket and unlocked his cottage. He flicked the light switch on and kicked the door back. Upon hanging his bag by the window that gave him a clear view of the hotel, he examined his cottage.

He remembered details that were noted in the balled up papers back in the main building. The flimsy excuse of a description were somewhat accurate to this cottage. All structural materials used to construct these cottages were uniform; same wood for the floor, same white concrete to make up the walls, etc.. A TV, some white poufs and small couches, and a study desk have all been moved here for the resident’s convenience. He noticed the curtain blinds were open, so he closed them along with the curtains themselves. The room was left barren, leaving him responsible to decorate his cottage. He decided not to, considering that he’ll not stay here forever unlike the others.

On the bed lied some neatly folded garments for him to wear, much like the ones he was currently wearing, same fabric and size, with the addition of the unique green tie that had an indiscernible insignia colored on it; while beside the bed lied a pair of red and white sneakers. He cleared out the bed and took off his dirty clothes. A shower was in order after all.

He entered his bathroom then proceeded to take a normal shower. As the lukewarm water massaged his muscles from his head all the way to his toes, his mind wandered…

. . .

. . .

No use…

It’s no use, isn’t it?

He can’t pretend anymore.

He nee— wanted them.

He had to apologize to them.

He had to get it over with already.

They’ll hate him.

They’ll despise him.

. . .

Chiaki didn’t deserve to die.

They didn’t deserve to live in despair.

In the end, he was selfish.

Both Hajime and Izuru… yes, they were both selfish. Inhumanely selfish.

He threw away everything to gain everything.

He lost everything to gain only one thing.

. . .

“I promise…I’ll fix everything…”

He felt the urge to heave. Tears and the now cold water pricked his eyes, blurring his vision even further.

“…I’ll fix everything…”

“…I’ll fix everything…”

“…I’ll fix…everything…”

. . .

. . .

. . .

The next moment, he found himself lying on his bed, with all the lights turned off. His eyes were heavy and sore with all the rubbing. He feels disgusted with himself, again. Letting himself cry heavily over something so mundane… it was repulsive. It wasn’t like him at all.

. . .

He closed his eyes and decided to get some sleep. His thoughts and his emotions have gone haywire these past few minutes…

* * *

_SYSTEM ONLINE_

_PING FOR REQUEST FOR CODE INJECTION... ACCE &$*((((((((((((_

_REQUEST GRANTED. LOADING FOREIGN FILE: BACKUP.AVA…10%_

_…38%…_

_…77%…_

_…7777778888888888(((((66666666666((((((HHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEE_

_…100%. ###### SUCCESSFULLY LOADED. RETURN EXIT CODE 0!,!,!,!,!,!,!!0_

“Hey, can you hear me, ######?”

“…”

“Ah, right. I forgot…that you can’t actually… _*static*_ …because of that. Sorry…”

They started to type on the keyboard.

“But at least you can see this right?”

###### tried to speak, but they can’t seem to hear. ###### became a little annoyed but still nodded. At least, they can understand that…probably.

“Look. I know that you can’t do much right now, but I need your help with something. I don’t think I can ask him to help with this anytime soon. He still needs a little push. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t remember anything too.”

###### can make a guess as to what they want. ###### understands that ???#?? is a tad dense at times.

"...So, do you think you can handle it right now? Or do you need more"

They accidentally hit "Enter", their mouth hanging in wondrous surprise.

"Oh! I see."

They smiled gratuitously and held out their palm towards ######.

"I'm sorry if I'm pressuring you too much right now, but I'm counting on you, sis! :)"

_DIRECT LINE COMMUNICATION TERMINATED BY USER ADMINISTRATOR. RETURN EXIT CODE 255!?!$?60._

. . .

_SEARCHING FOR FILE DIRECTORY: LIST_OF_SUBJECTS..._

_NUMBER OF SEARCH RESULTS FOUND: 1_

. . .

_SEARCHING FOR STRING CONTAINING "SIS"..._

. . .

_NUUUUUMMBBBBEBEVEBER OF SEAEAEAEAAAAAAARCHHGHJJSH RESRESULTS 4828827782: $ &@: **err** or$_

* * *

. . .

_### COMMAND EXEC:_ open.Code_Name(fol)

_CONFIRM OPEN FOLDER CODE_NAME CONTAINING 18 ITEMS? ( Y/N)_

_LOADING FOLDER: CODE_NAME…_

. . .

. . .

. . .

_SAVE CHANGES MADE TO CODE_NAME? ( Y/N)_

_### COMMAND EXEC:_ prev-.bat(Code_Name.txt)

. . .

Psychodive Categories:

  * Category 1 
    1. Zeus
    2. Banshee
  * Category 2A 
    1. Day
    2. Below
  * Category 2B 
    1. Hades
    2. Oni
  * Category 3 
    1. Night
    2. Above
  * Category 4 
    1. Succubus
  * Category 5 
    1. Leviathan
  * Category ??? 
    1. Angelic Sphere
    2. AngelFalse
    3. ???
  * Category $̵̧̠͓̍͛#̵̧̫͎̬̦͖̜̇̈́̈͝%̴͍̿̋̀&̵̧̻̳͖͔͉̟̌͗̄̍͠–̶͙̰̰̪̝̯͐͛͘k̶̗̩̰̽u̴̮̳̠̬͉̝̼̎M̶̺͎̦̜̘͇̄̇͊̎̀̿̕4̶͓͛͌̕ 
    1. Devillic Sphere



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I get why writing Izuru tends to get boring...
> 
> I’m reading through this over and over again and I have to admit, I was bored. Then I realized, isn’t that the point?
> 
> But don’t worry, he’ll change. Just give him some time people…
> 
> That is, if my mind can remain sane enough to handle it haha.
> 
> By the way, I set up a little mystery for you all to solve while waiting for the next chapter. If you haven’t noticed, those names at the end are codenames for the SDR2 cast. There is one exception though, but they’re important to the story hehehe. Try to interpret who they are based on their label. Some are obvious, some are rather vague. Sometimes, a quick Google search is all you need to decipher it.
> 
> Remember, this isn’t a contest, but I will immediately be your friend if anyone manages to get the right answers.


	5. Lovely Banquet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! I guess I should start explaining huh…
> 
> I’m terribly sorry for the long while it took to update. I’ve been procrastinating in Discord and YouTube for a while. This chapter should’ve been out much MUCH earlier.
> 
> I’m really really sorry, ok? …(•̩̩̩̩＿•̩̩̩̩) pls don’t hate me uuu…
> 
> Anyway, I would like to give a MAJOR shoutout to jimblebird, Toffee_Pops_Are_Great, Vandalia1998, and WeebKing for helping me out with grammar, betareading and morale boost while I was writing this story! You guys are the best! If you haven’t checked out any of their works, I SUGGEST THAT YOU FORGET ABOUT MINE FOR THE TIME BEING AND GO READ THEIRS! They make some of the most interesting stuff and I might have umm… “siphoned” a bit from their stories to make this one decent. Sorry about that guys…
> 
> But enough about them. Let’s move on to this story now, shall we?
> 
> For this chapter, pay **attention** to the bold **words, phrases, and sentences**. Like, I don’t know… maybe list them down on paper. These are crucial to the plot if you can unweave the mysteries behind them. 
> 
> Before you all start reading, I’ll give you one last thing.
> 
> “漂流 by THE SxPLAY & KIVΛ”
> 
> That’s all I’m going to say. Please feel free to drop a review or point out any mistakes I had!

_ ENTRY NO. (UNKNOWN) _

_To whomever this may concern:_

_I have kept a number of entries or logs detailing the events that occurred right after The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event – or The Tragedy to lessen the ridiculous moniker – told from my perspective. For someone like me, keeping these is highly unnecessary. It is impractical to record these events like I am writing an autobiography then assume that someone would be interested to read these._

_But it is precisely because something came up that I decided on this task. Something surprising. Something that opened my mind, to tell you quite frankly._

_For the convenience of the reader, to whom I predict you went through the proper procedures in obtaining these had my orders been followed down to the last period, I shall refer to this something, or “someone” really, as Una – which means “first” in Filipino. Why I had chosen this to label them, it is for a simple reason. They are “first” in my priorities._

_Although, as I brood back on it, that would be counterintuitive to what I want to do. I am very much certain that they will highly disapprove of my actions. Be that as it may, I am forced to understand that it is too late for me to turn back now; not now, when the stage for the finale had already been set. Ironic how I decide to prioritize something else over them._

_I suppose recounting these past months can act as the tiniest sense of comfort for me as I plunge myself back into the void I created with my own two hands._

_It began on that day when I saw Una for the first time._

_They had to play a difficult game of life and death, all to save those special to them. They had been confused as to what happened. First, they recognized me as someone else. Then after that, they had been betrayed by those they wanted to save; including me, for some bizarre reason._

_Back then, I could not analyze why I felt like I had betrayed them. We had not met the day beforehand, the month beforehand, and not the year beforehand. However, from our unfortunately short conversation, I concluded that they had met me sometime in the past._

_Way, way back, in a previous life._

_I am no religious person, and by no means am I speaking religiously either, but that was exactly what the facts had lead me to believe. In my previous life, Una was special to me. I told them, repeatedly mind you so, that this person that they previously bonded with was effectively **dead**. **Dead** – as if they did not exist in the first place. **Dead** – as if there were no other evidence to prove their existence. **Dead** – as if it made Una's words seem like balderdash to them but still held a firm belief on it; because they feared the moment they stopped, then it would become a painful reality._

_Then through some unforeseeable circumstances, neither of them died. Their friend had pulled their hand back as it was a mere hair’s breadth away from the point of no return. To this day, I still believe that that burst of adrenaline that urged my body to bandage them, carry them on my two arms, strip them off of their bloodied tattered garments, implant the leftover experimental materials from the Hope Cultivation Project to heal their wounds, and take care of them ever since then was not of my own accord._

_Now, what would that say about what I am currently doing? Am I still a puppet being controlled by invisible strings?_

_Maybe if I think about it a little more, I may find the answer…_

* * *

The crisp chill air stirred Hajime away from his sleep. Within seconds, his eyes instantly shot **up** , darting all about the place, and found himself waking up into a cold sweat, rapidly breathing for air. Recognizing that he was still inside his own cottage, he calmed his breathing **down** with some deep breaths.

_Relax… that’s just the same nightmare…_

The phantom-like Ultimate leapt out of the bed, somehow leaving it pristine and orderly, and wore the set of clothes that waited for him last night. Afterwards, he left his abode, not without taking his keys with him. He spared one last look at the cottage then went on his way to the hotel.

The scene before him was **reminiscent** of the nights that passed by. The distinct lack of **crimson** indicated that it was still early in the morning; dawn, to be more precise. The sun remained hidden beneath the horizon. Predictably, no one should be up and about right now.

As abandoned as it looked on the outside, the inside made no difference; albeit, admittedly, a little unsettling that it made him more wary than usual. He entered and exited a lot of ghost towns and empty buildings back then. He sensed that cold aura around his surroundings, but it was only now he felt it in full effect. Hastily, he made his way into the hotel’s kitchen, deciding that he might as well help himself with some food while he’s here as there weren’t _exactly_ any sanctions limiting him in the kitchen.

An assortment of pots, pans, skillets, spatulas, ladles, and other kitchen utensils were hanged on a row like wet clothes on a clothesline. They seemed clean and sanitized enough that they don’t ruin the ingredients. On the other side of the kitchen, split into two sections via a long preparation table that was cluttered with chinaware, tin foils, and trays in a professional fashion. A **sharp sudden sound** broke out and **cut** through the empty silence. Hajime traced the source of the sound and found the culprit – a white refrigerator that was currently crushing ice to keep the temperature consistently low. He pulled its lower compartment open then was greeted with a cool thin crystal mist of water vapor as its insides began to make themselves visible.

Just as he thought that the prep table he just saw was at its most organized of messes, there was serious competition.

Someone looked like they were in a hurry when they stocked up on ingredients. He opened each drawer to find different cuts of **white, red and dark** meat packaged inside plastic bags, and vegetables of various colors; all segregated (shoved) into their respective drawers. The eggs weren’t, _but I mean come on, that just goes without saying_. He closed the fridge and looked at the cupboards near the top. In there, Hajime found just what he needed: white rice and some common seasonings and spices like salt, fish sauce, calamondin extract and pepper. 

Now, all he needed was some fish…

The genius’s common sense dictated that seafood spoils faster than any other of the available meats – _twice as fast_ , he generalized. Although the next restock is coming soon, he deemed it unwise to play with their food. There were other factors that came into play in the spoilage process, such as storage’s temperature, salinity, health, etc..

Not to mention that only six of them would attempt to dig through the vast supply of Makoto’s provisions. They should’ve known that hoarding is a no go, if the lucky student had any speck of cautiousness packaged with his bleeding heart.

With that fact in his mind, he concluded that they didn’t bother to add fish in the list of supplies. He’d have to procure one for himself if he wanted to have fish…

…And that meant diving off into the deep ocean to get some.

He glanced at the baking oven’s digital clock, reading 4:49 just as it ticked to 4:50.

He didn't want to get himself wet this early in the morning, but he would kill to have some fish right now.

 _Obviously, **in a literal sense.** How asinine would one have to be to eat live fish_?

* * *

_*Knock*_

_*Knock*_

_*Knock*_

. . .

_*Knock*_

_*Knock*_

_*Knock*_

"In a minute!"

Ok, one last look in the mirror and...

_Alright that’s everything._

The girl picked up the nearby hairbrush and combed her soft artificial-like hair to straighten it, trying to make it longer than it looked. She let out a frustrated huff as the curl at the end of her hair refused to stay down. Setting the brush down on the tabletop drawer, she smiled lopsidedly, but her eyes never met the figure’s in the mirror. She reached out for her glasses beside her brush and placed it over her eyes, sliding into place over the bridge of her nose.

_*Knock*_

_*Knock*_

_*Knock—_

“Good morning, Anami-san,” greeted Sonia, who wore some casual clothing and a large matching purple sun hat instead of her usual gown, with a beautiful smile.

“Good morning, Sonia-san,” returned the other, stepping outside beside the princess and ironing out the creases on her cream blouse with her hands before locking the door.

“Ah, but are you alright? I was worried when you weren’t answering the door.”

 _She didn’t hear me?_ The other wondered to herself. “No no, I’m fine!” she replied with a gladdened chuckle, making a gesture with her hand to placate Sonia, “I was just making sure I didn’t forget anything.” Her features hardened and her eyes wandered off elsewhere. “Hinata-kun did get the idea that things slip past me easily…”

One look to her peripheral vision and she noticed that the smile from Sonia’s face suddenly vanished. “Oh.” She shook her head and brought her smile back. _She must have caught on to my suspicion_. “Of course. I apologize for misplacing my worries. You are a far more capable woman than I thought, Anami-san.”

_. . ._

_”That’s why you were the perfect candidate.”_

Even though she could not stop the heat from covering her cheeks, she shoved that compliment out of her mind immediately. “It’s ok, really. I get that you guys might think I look like a zombie but I’m glad you think differently.”

The former Despair reeled in shock and lost her composure. “P-Perish the thought! If that is a joke, then it is in poor taste! We would never compare you to a mindless corpse!”

_I know you really mean what you said but…_

_. . ._

_…What am I thinking? I…I have to stop being so negative. I can’t do my job like this…_

“You’re right…” replied the somberly happy girl, “…it is a joke in poor taste. Sorry for ruining the mood.”

Sonia deflated, clearly not accepting the apology. Instead, she pulled her into a tight yet feeble embrace. She would have found the warmth comforting, were it not for the strong clinical smell of rubbing alcohol and metal mixing with the sweet scent of magnolias wafting on the princess’s golden locks.

Still, she managed to let out a quiet laugh. “…It’s funny, y’know? I’m supposed to be the one helping you with your problems, not the other way around.”

“Is that so? I haven’t realized…” Sonia trailed off, actual confusion abject in her voice...

...or so she thinks.

“Perhaps you have forgotten what you promised before?”

She blinked sluggishly. She racked her mind to grasp on to what Sonia was talking about.

The blonde gestured her hands over the other’s shoulders, silently imploring for her to make eye contact. “You promised that you would be our friend so that you could help us recover…no matter how daunting the task may be for you. While I appreciate your willingness to help, can you really call our “friendship” genuine if only one party is benefited?”

“I-It’s not that I'm—!” The smaller girl quickly covered her mouth with one hand, realizing that Sonia probably didn’t mean any harm with her innocent question. “…I mean, you don’t need to bother with any of my problems. You guys need it more than I do."

"That is precisely the problem!" Sonia exclaimed, incredulous. "Why do you—"

She shook her head and raised her hand. “They’re too little compared to what you guys are going through. I don't want to trouble you any more than I ought to, Sonia-san. And that doesn't invalidate our friendship at all." She let out a kind innocent smile. "If I could do this for you all, then that's enough for me."

"Silence! That is not true!"

The princess's grip on her shoulders became tighter, and the other could feel her own heart race in panic, shaking on her legs. With her breathing growing more ragged, she could do nothing but stand down and obey Sonia's commanding voice. She couldn’t afford to implode in front of her right now.

"You are as much a victim as any of us are, Anami-san." she started shakily; however, the firmness of her declaration held still in her throat. "That is the reason why you wanted to help us, is it not? We have wronged you somehow and you wish to confront those nightmares. But please understand that we, too, wish for the same thing!"

She looked up and saw the glisten of tears in Sonia's eyes.

"Just you being here is torture for our conscience... The more you force out sympathy for us, the heavier the guilt becomes for us! Why…can’t you realize this?! You act as if we should not care about your happiness at all! That’s just like saying…that we should succumb even further to our despair! Years of not caring about what other people had to go through… How much more do you want us to endure?!”

No reply…

**It was as if Sonia was staring straight into an abyss by looking through her eyes – an abyss with no end, no light, not even the slightest bit of hope – an abyss so deep that it stretched beyond the shadow trailing her shoes, beyond the cottage behind her, and beyond the confines of Jabberwock Island.**

The next moment she blinked, the albino found the princess’s thumb caressing the wet part of her cheek. Instinctively, she leaned to the touch and felt more drops bleed out from her eyes.

**It seems there was something inside that abyss after all…**

“…Please just tell us— _tell me_ , why you treat yourself so lowly… I want to know, as a friend. A **genuine** friend.”

After a while of silence, a smile crept up at her lips and she looked at Sonia with a ghost of gratitude plastered on her face. “You’re right, again…” she sighed and the smile fell. “…I always ask myself, ‘How can I help others if I can’t even help myself?’ It would be selfish of me to admit that I suffered as much as you all did.”

_And I’m anything but selfish…_

“But yes, it’s true. I’m just as much a victim as you all are, not in the way you phrased it however…”

“What do you mean?”

She took a deep breath. “Just like the rest of you, _**I used to be a Remnant of Despair**_.”

The air became chillier, as Sonia froze in shock, in disbelief of what she said.

**She saw her look of surprise coming from a mile away. No one knew so no one would’ve expected it, especially from someone like her. Well, _except for one_ – Hajime. She knows he should’ve already caught on to her dirty secret; not that it really mattered to him. Although deep inside, she wished that they could’ve continued living under this lie. Things would have been easier that way.**

_”…People twist their definition of “friendship” to suit their niche… Is that not what you are doing right now?”_

**Or convenient. There’s no difference between the two anyway.**

As soon as the girl felt trembling fingers furtively slide across the side of her neck, she instantly pulled her closer for another embrace. A quiet betrayed gasp escaped Sonia as the others’ arms latched on to her, clutching her close to her body and nuzzling her nose over her shoulder.

“You know…” she croaked, sniffling for a bit, “…when you said that my sympathy was forced… _It hurt_. It took everything in me to stop myself from saying, _'you’re wrong'_ …! But in the end…” she took a moment to laugh in self-deprecation, “…in the end, I just went out and…admitted it, didn’t I? Even if I didn’t mean to… A member of the Future Foundation… someone who people trusted… someone who Naegi-kun and Kirigiri-san trusted… someone who _you guys_ trusted to help you out of this darkness…

… _ **is in that very same darkness**_.”

“A…Anami-san…”

“I can’t help you guys anymore…can I? I don’t even know how to but…it’s over… I failed…”

_…Just like before…_

Even with the words of a defeatist, her grip did not fail her. She didn’t want to let go. In fact, this was the last thing she wanted – to betray and cut down the last tie she had to this world. It was just too difficult to lie, even more so to someone with so much guilt over their heart that you can practically see the weight forcefully pulling their legs and head down.

So she cried.

She forced out every emotion, every bit of strength she could muster, beneath the cascade of emptiness that surrounded her soul; sadness, bitterness, resentment…

She wanted it all out. _Everything_. _Anything_.

Just so she can feel alive again.

Just so she can be normal again.

Just so…they can all come back to her…

Her dear friends…

Her _**dead**_ friends…

**Can’t she be selfish…for one last time?**

. . .

“Fret no longer…” whispered Sonia to her ear, her voice quivering in a concoction of emotions, “…I beg of you… I didn’t know it was like this… I don’t expect you to forgive us for this, but understand, words cannot express our sorrow and guilt. We are tired…so very tired…of blaming ourselves every time we breathe.”

The other felt the alien sensation of hot moisture tapping her shoulder, finally reciprocating the sudden embrace fully.

“…We need you to help us… Truthfully, I do not care whether you are a professional or not. Actually, I…” the princess audibly bit the side of her cheek before continuing, “…It may be incredibly morbid for me to say this, but it’s refreshing to know…that someone else here shares our fate.”

“…Do you…really mean that…? Do you still trust me to help you guys?”

“That…I shall do, starting from now on…”

She sighed in relief.

The two slowly let their arms limply return to their sides and backed off from each other for a moment’s worth of relaxation from the outpouring of emotions. Wiping off the remaining tears that streaked her face with her arm forcefully tattooed with scars and discoloration, she stretched it out in front of her towards Sonia. “…Let’s make a promise then, from one friend to another.”

“Is this a blood pact…or a formal handshake?”

“It can be whatever you want it to be, Sonia-san. Either way, it’s a promise that we’ll help each other out. No _more_ secrets. No _more_ deception.”

“I think a handshake will be fine.” The princess’s smile looked less forced than usual, more natural and genuine, as she took her fellow the other’s hand and shook it. “I still feel a bit queasy about shedding blood…after what’s happened…”

With a chuckle, she said, “It’s official then!”

The two former Despairs then broke off the handshake and started moving towards the hotel, now feeling a bit better after the little heart-to-heart they shared.

. . .

**Still, his words – those jaded, cold, words of truth – continued to sheathe themselves deeper into her scars and ricochet inside her mind like small spiny marbles speedily bouncing about in a pinball machine…**

_**”…People twist their definition of “friendship” to suit their niche… Is that not what you are doing right now?”** _

**The only key difference is… _it doesn’t make things any easier_. Telling the truth now would make things simple, too simple for her liking.**

**And things that looked too simple were deceptively dangerous…**

* * *

There was a sigh unheard from a distance…

Dispirited as ever, he hung his head low and leaned by the door to his cottage. He remembered something – a box. This box had everything he needed to drive those thoughts about her out.

He reached deep into his jumpsuit’s chest pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Letting the cigarette hang loose from his mouth, he flicked the lighter a few times, which only caused a few sparks to light up. He made a disgruntled guttural sound in frustration, now flicking it more rapidly.

“Oi, you tryna’ get yourself killed faster?”

Kazuichi perked his head up to see Fuyuhiko’s unamused face. “What? We’re old enough to smoke.” He continued trying to create a fire with this defective lighter.

“You dumbass… it doesn’t matter if you’re old enough or not. That shit’s gonna clog up your lungs.”

He rolled his eyes to the side in response. “Since when did you start caring— H-Hey!”

The yakuza wasted no time in pulling the cigarette out and crushing it to ashes in his hand. Later, he extended that hand out and wiggled his finger…? “The rest of it. Hand it over.”

“W-What the heck is your problem, anyways?!" Kazuichi stormed, glaring down at Fuyuhiko. "Can't I have some time for myself?!"

"The fuck got your nuts all up in a twist?" His cheek twitched. "I'm not saying you're not allowed to relax! Christ, I'm not that cruel..."

"Well, this is what I want as relaxation. C’mon, don't take this away from me." The mechanic sighed again and looked at the two ladies hugging each other. "Please."

For a while, Fuyuhiko didn't talk. From the sounds of it, he's mulling over what he's going to say next. "So, it's about Sonia, huh…"

"...Yeah." Kazuichi mindlessly fished the pack of cigarettes out again, the urge feeling much stronger than before despite Fuyuhiko's...voice of reason.

“Haven’t you two talked it out already? I thought you did.“

“I didn’t.”

“…Well?”

“You don’t understand!” He suddenly flicked his wrist outwards with a sharp turn of his head towards Fuyuhiko, accidentally spilling out several of the sticks of nicotine on the plank until only one remained balanced on the spout of the box. A curse escaped his mouth before continuing. “…You gotta be fucking crazy if you think she’ll forgive me for _that_!”

“…I didn’t say she would.”

“Then what’s the point?!”

Without a warning, Fuyuhiko pulled Kazuichi down to eye-level by the collar of his jumpsuit. The mechanic then found himself staring down a pissed off dragon in the eye and a sense of dread washed over him in the form of profuse sweating. “…You’re a real lucky bastard Soda lemme tell you that. You get to see her there, _alive and kicking_ , and I see you moping around here, acting like a goddamn coward thinking about putting that shit in your mouth, while I gotta deal with the fact that I can’t talk to Peko ‘bout what I did ‘cause she’s a fucking _vegetable_. You got every chance in this fucked up world to say something to her.”

“L-Like I said,” he said, weakly shoving Fuyuhiko away and readjusting his collar, “what’s the point? We’d both be wasting our time if we talked, because she hates me so much that she’s _not going to forgive me_.”

The one-eyed male scoffed at his response. “…Giving up before you tried? For fuck’s sake, stop acting like a little pussy and just talk to her! You really think you know a girl – and it’s Sonia of ALL people – but really, you don’t. Besides, even if it somehow went to shit—”

“We don’t have anything to lose, right?”

“Exactly.”

The mechanic turned his gaze towards the girls again, only to find them happily chatting to each other on their way to the crossroads leading to the hotel. Once they made the turn, the cottages barred him from ogling at their dreamy and cute faces; regardless of how messed up that was.

_Jeez… I can’t believe he’s right. I’m being a little bitch, aren’t I?_

“Did ya say something?”

“Huh?” Kazuichi shook his mind out of the gutter. “No, didn’t say anything.”

“Hmph…”

He took a deep breath. “But… be honest. Do you really think I still have a chance?”

“…Never thought I’d hear you ask that.” Fuyuhiko let out a laugh then grinned mockingly. “Ah what the hell… just go for her already!!” He turned Kazuichi towards their direction and pushed him forward, making the other stumble.

As the mechanic regained his footing, he turned around and glared at the yakuza. The glare soon turned into a laugh once he saw Fuyuhiko beaming at him with his arms crossed in defiance.

Despite everything, that guy just couldn’t take away that baby face of his, could he? What a joke…

_Hey! Wouldn’t that make me more of a joke?!_

He couldn’t have that! He just couldn’t! He’s had enough of running away and sulking in some lonely corner to smoke his life out!

_HERE I COME, SONIA-SAAAAAAAANNNNNN!!!_

* * *

Of course, a person just _had_ to come, hadn't they? None could resist the temptation created by the aroma from the hotel.

Especially Akane. It was a good decision to lock the door despite it providing a measly defense to her frenzied rapping.

The spell crafted wasn't intentional, but a standard had to be met after all. An Ultimate couldn't be modest no matter how hard they try. What's considered simple for them sat comfortably atop the superlatives in the minds of common folk.

Now, imagine how much an Ultimate Ultimate could do…

Imagine a god of talent, doing an incredibly menial task such as grilling tuna and partitioning lemon slices at the same time…

Hajime felt some sense of pride and accomplishment as the image registered in his head; the rhythm of sizzling oil and board sounds never faltering. He would often surprise himself as he sometimes forgets the limitless boundaries of his newfound abilities. He wrestled away a shiver of sharks with his own hands while chasing down a school of tuna and escaped, untouched and unfatigued. 

You know, nothing too difficult. Another batch of boring tasks, so it seems.

Upon applying the final touches on the six platters of a simple tuna dish – each garnished with their own unique plating and flavor to cater to those six people’s tastes, with his being the most bare-bones of them all – he unlocked the door and marched out with all six plates balanced on his arms.

Hajime knew exactly what he looked like behind that face of gluttonous craving, so there was no need to panic over something that was a given.

He deftly ducked under the woman’s arm and proceeded to prepare the dining table.

“Eh? What the?! MY FOOD!”

"No need to worry. No one's going to gobble up all your food." He spared a second’s worth of his focus to glance at Akane. “Let’s wait for the others first.”

"Alright..." she complied reluctantly, audibly scratching her head.

Knowing about other people entailed knowing where on the table would they stay. Yukito would sit at the head of the table, stemming from her responsibility as the overseer since she would benefit the most at that position. Sonia and Kazuichi will most definitely seat across and at the different sides of the table, but never too far such that the latter can stare dreamily on her face without coming off as too inappropriate ( _as if he wasn’t at that level of indecency in the first place_ ). As always, Akane and Fuyuhiko were more difficult to predict, but alas, predictable nevertheless. Fuyuhiko will most likely seat next to Kazuichi and nearest to the head of the table, while Akane would settle for whichever seat is vacant, for she is not one to have preferences on where to seat or who she is seated next to. The same goes for Hajime.

"Did you feel a headache when you woke up?" he asked, sitting down at a random chair and facing Akane.

"Yeah, I did... Why are you askin' me this?"

"Why not?"

"You gave me a pretty good beatin' last night. Fair n' square, too... You didn't have to take care of me when you only fought me just 'cause I wanted to."

He raised his eyebrow, his red orb burning in concentration. "You'd rather have me leave you sleeping on the sand?"

"Well... yeah." She averted her gaze. "I still don't know what ya did but you did something. Something big. I know that you could have not cared at all. So thanks for that. I guess."

"You're welcome, Owari."

Her face turned a shade redder than her tanned skin. "Arghh!! Can you stop that?!"

"Stop what?" He huffed with a smirk. "I'm just returning your rare gesture of gratitude."

"That! Stop being so… so nice! It’s freakin’ weird…”

Hajime didn't try to have a witty remark this time. He sighed and looked down on the hand firmly clasping the top of his knee. "I'd rather not do that... so maybe, could you at least put up with it for a couple of days?"

Akane opened her mouth to reply, but stopped at the first syllable.

"About time."

Hajime glanced over his shoulder to look at the approaching crowd by the stairwell. Sonia and Yukito popped out first, closely followed by a very predatory-looking Kazuichi and a slightly concerned Fuyuhiko.

_Hm?_

Turning on his chair, he focused his attention on the pair of interest. He noted that they were happy, even more so than he remembered. And yet, that wasn't the most shocking detail about them.

It was Yukito's scars.

Lines of varying lengths, darkly colored bruises, and dead spots peppered her arms and legs. The jacket and stockings she wore yesterday perfectly hid those marks, and even now as they are exposed in the light of day, one won't be able to notice it until they see it up close... _or if they're somebody named Kamukura Izuru_. 

_H̶̸̷̴̷̶̸̴̸̵̸̵̵̴̴̶̶̴̵̴̶̷̵̵̷̶̵̷̸̵̸̷̸̴̸̸̴̵̸̸̸̶̶̸̷̴̴̵̵̴̶̶̶̷̸̶̴̴̴̵̸̶̸̴̸̴̴̵̷̵̷̴̴̸̸̴̵̷̶̵̸̶̶̴̴̶̷̴̶̸̵̷̷̶̵̷̴̶̵̶̴̴̴̶̵̴̷̴̶̶̴̴̸̸̷̷̶̵̷̶̶̷̶̵̶̷̴̵̶̷̴̸̵̶̸̷̸̸̴̶̴̴̴̶̴̶̶̸̷̷̷̶̵̸̴̷̷̴̶̸̶̷̴̷̶̶̷̷̶̵̵̵̷̵̶̴̵̵̶̸̶̴̵̷̶̴̴̸̸̴̸̶̷̵̷̷̶̴̵̶̷̶̷̵̷̴̶̵̴̷̶̴̶̵̵̴̶̴̵̵̸̴̷̵̶̵̴̴̷̷̵̷̴̴̸̶̸̶̸̷̴̸̸̸̸̴̴̵̷̴̵̷̶̸̵o̸̸̸̸̵̶̵̴̸̸̷̶̷̴̷̸̷̷̸̷̴̴̷̵̶̴̷̴̶̷̵̸̸̴̸̶̷̴̶̸̷̶̵̸̸̵̷̵̸̴̵̷̸̶̸̷̶̴̴̶̸̶̶̷̶̷̶̵̴̵̵̴̷̴̴̸̴̷̸̶̶̸̵̵̵̸̶̵̷̴̶̵̷̸̶̴̴̷̷̸̸̵̷̸̵̴̵̷̵̵̵̴̸̸̴̷̴̷̵̸̴̴̴̷̴̴̵̶̴̵̵̶̷̵̵̶̵̷̸̷̵̵̶̴̷̴̷̶̴̶̶̷̶̶̶̵̶̶̷̶̸̷̷̷̴̸̶̸̴̸̸̶̷̸̸̶̴̵̸̷̸̷̸̵̸̷̸̷̴̸̵̶̵̵̴̸̶̸̴̵̶̷̴̴̵̵̵̶̴̷̸̸̷̵̶̴̵̷̴̵̷̴̸̴̴̸̶̸̶̵̶̵̸̷̴̷̶̶̷̷̸̵̴̵̷̸̸̷̸̴̷̸̸̴̵w̶̴̵̶̷̵̴̶̶̶̴̶̷̷̷̸̵̴̶̸̸̸̵̴̸̴̵̴̸̶̸̵̶̴̶̶̵̸̷̴̶̸̶̵̵̶̶̶̸̴̶̷̴̶̶̴̵̸̵̷̶̴̸̴̷̴̵̶̴̶̷̵̸̵̶̴̷̴̵̸̸̵̵̷̵̶̸̷̴̷̵̶̷̴̵̷̵̸̷̶̷̴̴̴̴̷̷̵̶̸̵̷̵̸̷̸̷̶̵̷̵̸̵̵̴̴̷̴̸̶̸̵̵̶̶̵̷̴̷̴̵̵̴̶̴̶̶̸̵̴̵̸̵̴̴̷̷̴̵̵̸̵̶̴̶̴̸̵̵̸̷̴̶̶̸̶̷̸̷̴̸̵̵̶̸̷̷̴̵̷̴̶̵̶̸̴̵̵̵̵̴̸̵̵̷̴̷̸̷̸̷̸̴̸̴̷̵̸̴̵̶̸̵̶̸̴̴̶̵̵̷̷̵̶̶̵̶̵̸̵̶̴̸̴̸̶̸̷̸̸̸̸̵̸̶ ̵̸̵̶̶̸̴̷̶̷̸̶̷̶̸̴̶̵̵̴̷̸̶̶̴̵̴̸̴̸̷̷̵̸̴̴̵̷̷̴̴̶̸̵̵̶̸̴̷̸̸̷̶̶̵̵̵̸̵̷̵̴̸̷̷̸̶̸̵̵̸̷̵̶̷̵̸̷̵̴̶̶̸̸̴̵̷̷̶̶̴̸̴̵̸̸̵̸̷̶̷̶̶̷̵̶̵̴̴̶̶̵̷̵̷̶̸̴̵̵̸̷̶̵̷̴̶̶̴̸̵̸̷̶̸̶̸̸̸̴̷̶̵̸̵̴̴̷̸̸̷̶̴̵̴̷̴̸̵̷̴̵̷̷̶̴̴̷̶̸̶̷̶̸̶̸̶̶̸̸̴̷̵̵̸̶̸̶̸̶̴̴̸̷̷̶̶̶̵̶̸̸̸̶̵̵̶̸̴̴̸̴̵̵̴̵̴̶̴̶̵̷̴̷̷̶̴̸̵̸̸̷̵̸̶̶̵̴̶̸̵̵̶̶̴̸̵̶̴̷̶̸̶̸̵f̷̷̷̴̷̷̷̴̵̶̴̸̷̵̴̶̵̵̸̸̶̸̵̶̸̶̵̷̸̸̶̶̶̴̶̶̷̸̶̶̸̴̵̵̶̷̶̶̸̷̴̸̸̶̵̶̸̷̴̵̵̶̸̷̴̶̴̷̵̸̴̷̴̷̸̸̶̵̷̸̶̵̵̷̴̵̶̵̵̵̴̴̴̷̵̴̷̵̷̶̴̸̵̶̴̴̸̷̸̴̴̶̶̸̵̷̴̴̶̶̴̵̷̵̵̷̸̴̷̸̷̸̶̷̷̷̸̷̸̸̴̷̷̷̶̷̷̶̷̶̴̶̴̴̷̷̶̴̶̸̵̴̴̴̸̵̷̶̶̶̵̵̵̸̶̸̸̵̸̶̴̵̸̴̵̵̴̸̴̵̸̸̴̵̶̶̵̴̶̸̶̷̸̶̶̷̴̶̴̴̴̵̴̷̷̴̸̶̴̵̵̷̵̸̸̵̶̶̵̷̷̷̷̵̴̸̷̴̷̷̸̶̷̷̷̷̷̶̵̵̶̸̵̴̵a̶̵̶̵̴̷̵̸̴̸̸̷̷̷̵̶̴̵̶̵̶̸̵̴̷̵̸̸̷̴̴̶̵̶̷̷̶̴̶̴̴̷̴̶̷̵̶̴̷̵̴̸̵̴̶̶̶̶̴̸̵̷̸̸̷̷̷̴̷̸̵̶̷̵̴̷̷̶̶̵̷̶̵̶̴̴̷̶̸̵̴̸̷̵̵̵̴̷̴̵̵̴̷̴̸̸̶̸̵̴̶̴̴̴̷̵̴̵̷̴̴̴̶̶̷̷̶̴̵̴̷̶̴̷̸̴̶̸̵̴̷̵̴̴̶̵̷̵̷̴̷̵̸̸̵̸̵̴̸̵̸̴̵̶̶̷̵̶̷̵̶̸̸̸̷̴̴̵̴̷̷̸̸̵̶̵̸̸̴̴̶̸̷̶̴̸̵̴̷̷̶̷̵̵̵̵̴̴̶̸̵̵̵̷̷̸̷̵̷̶̷̶̵̵̶̵̷̵̵̶̷̶̸̷̵̶̵̴̵̶̵̷̸̵̷̷̸̷̵̷̴̷̵̵̶m̶̴̷̸̴̸̴̶̶̶̴̶̴̴̶̸̶̷̵̵̶̵̵̵̷̸̶̷̵̵̸̷̴̶̸̸̷̴̷̸̸̸̵̷̴̷̵̶̸̷̷̴̴̴̸̶̴̸̷̵̵̶̵̸̸̵̸̷̵̸̴̴̷̷̸̴̸̷̶̴̷̵̶̷̵̸̴̷̶̷̷̸̵̴̷̵̶̵̸̵̸̵̴̷̷̷̵̸̷̷̶̸̶̴̸̷̵̸̸̸̴̸̶̵̵̷̷̵̶̶̶̷̶̷̸̷̷̷̸̸̷̵̶̷̵̸̶̴̸̶̸̶̴̶̵̶̴̶̶̸̷̴̴̵̸̸̴̸̸̷̸̶̶̸̶̵̵̶̴̷̴̵̵̶̴̸̵̶̵̶̸̷̵̴̴̶̶̴̶̵̷̷̸̶̶̵̶̴̷̶̷̵̵̴̵̶̸̵̸̷̷̸̵̸̸̵̸̴̸̵̷̷̸̶̸̵̸̶̶̶̶̶̵̵̶̴̶̴̴̵̴̵̶̵̷i̷̸̵̸̵̶̶̸̸̵̸̸̴̷̶̷̶̴̶̶̶̵̸̸̶̶̴̴̴̶̸̵̶̷̷̶̴̴̸̶̵̴̷̴̸̷̶̴̷̵̸̶̸̷̷̷̶̴̵̷̵̸̸̴̵̸̵̵̷̶̴̴̸̵̸̴̶̵̸̶̵̶̶̶̴̷̵̴̵̷̵̵̷̷̵̶̷̸̷̸̵̴̸̶̷̴̴̷̴̶̶̶̴̸̷̷̵̴̵̷̵̵̶̶̵̵̴̸̵̸̷̶̶̸̶̵̶̴̶̵̶̴̸̴̵̵̷̴̴̵̴̷̶̵̴̷̸̷̷̸̷̴̸̶̵̷̵̵̴̷̷̴̸̵̸̴̶̶̵̵̵̷̴̸̴̸̸̵̷̷̶̷̶̷̸̸̶̶̴̶̸̵̴̸̷̵̵̵̷̷̶̷̴̸̵̵̸̵̷̶̵̵̵̴̴̸̸̷̵̶̶̴̸̶̷̶̵̸̴̴̴̷̴̷̷̶̸̸̴̷̷̵̶̶̵l̸̸̸̴̸̵̸̵̶̵̸̶̶̵̴̷̴̴̴̴̷̴̷̸̶̸̶̸̶̵̶̷̵̷̸̷̶̷̵̴̶̶̷̶̵̶̶̷̶̷̶̸̵̶̴̶̶̶̴̷̵̴̴̸̴̷̴̴̶̵̴̷̴̶̷̵̴̷̷̵̸̵̵̷̵̸̴̶̷̸̶̵̵̸̵̷̷̴̵̷̷̷̴̴̴̸̶̴̵̵̴̶̵̵̷̵̶̵̵̴̸̴̴̶̵̵̶̵̴̵̶̷̴̶̴̶̶̶̸̴̸̷̵̸̶̶̷̷̴̷̶̵̴̴̶̷̷̷̵̵̶̷̴̴̸̵̴̶̴̷̷̶̴̴̸̴̷̵̶̷̸̸̷̵̴̴̷̶̶̷̴̵̴̷̶̶̸̸̴̸̸̶̶̴̵̴̸̴̶̸̴̶̶̶̷̴̶̵̷̵̸̸̶̷̸̸̴̸̴̵̴̷̷̶̴̵̸̸̸̵̴̴̶̶̸̸̴̵̶̸̶̴̵̷̵i̵̴̵̸̸̴̸̷̶̷̴̶̷̴̸̴̴̴̷̶̷̷̸̶̶̴̵̸̵̶̴̸̸̶̵̷̴̶̵̶̶̶̶̵̶̵̸̴̸̶̸̴̴̵̵̷̵̵̴̷̴̵̷̴̵̷̸̸̵̵̶̶̴̶̶̶̵̶̸̷̷̷̷̴̷̵̸̴̶̸̴̷̷̵̵̶̵̴̷̸̵̷̵̷̷̸̵̸̶̶̴̴̸̶̸̶̶̷̶̶̵̴̵̷̵̴̶̵̶̴̴̸̶̸̷̶̸̶̷̷̶̷̸̷̵̶̵̶̴̶̷̶̸̵̵̶̸̶̵̵̷̵̶̵̷̷̴̷̶̸̵̸̵̶̸̷̴̸̷̶̸̶̷̷̶̷̵̸̵̵̵̸̶̴̷̶̶̵̶̵̶̵̵̷̶̴̶̸̸̶̵̶̶̶̴̴̵̵̷̴̴̶̴̴̴̸̷̸̷̵̴̷̸̷̸̵̴̸̷̶̶̵̴̵̴̵̴̸̸̷̶̴̵̶̸a̸̴̴̴̴̵̵̵̵̷̸̷̴̷̸̸̶̷̴̸̴̷̵̷̸̷̴̴̸̸̷̸̶̴̸̸̴̴̴̸̵̴̴̷̷̴̷̶̶̸̶̵̵̴̵̵̷̶̶̴̵̶̸̸̴̶̶̵̸̶̶̵̶̸̴̵̷̷̵̵̸̸̶̴̷̸̸̶̷̸̸̶̴̶̵̷̵̷̸̵̷̷̸̴̶̸̸̴̵̴̴̴̷̸̵̸̴̶̷̴̴̶̸̷̸̶̴̸̵̷̷̸̷̷̴̵̸̷̸̶̶̶̴̶̴̷̴̴̴̷̵̵̸̴̴̷̷̴̴̸̵̵̵̶̷̷̶̸̷̷̸̴̸̸̵̴̸̶̶̷̶̴̶̶̴̸̶̵̴̸̷̵̴̵̶̵̴̵̷̴̸̷̴̷̸̸̸̷̸̶̵̵̷̶̴̶̶̷̷̶̶̶̶̴̵̶̸̴̸̶̴̷̵̷̷̴̴̷̶̴̴̷̶̵̸̵̸̸̸̵̷̶̴̷̵r̶̶̵̸̸̸̷̵̴̷̵̴̷̴̴̶̶̵̶̶̸̶̵̴̶̶̴̷̸̸̸̴̴̵̸̴̸̸̸̷̵̸̸̷̵̵̶̸̷̷̶̴̷̸̷̸̸̷̸̶̶̷̴̴̴̵̶̷̸̴̵̶̷̶̷̸̵̵̴̵̸̵̷̶̷̴̶̷̴̴̷̸̴̸̴̷̷̵̷̶̴̵̴̸̵̸̷̷̵̴̷̶̸̷̴̶̴̴̵̵̶̷̸̶̵̷̸̴̵̷̷̸̶̶̵̷̵̸̷̵̸̶̸̶̷̸̸̸̷̴̷̸̵̸̵̶̴̴̵̶̷̵̵̴̵̶̶̷̵̵̶̶̷̴̸̷̴̵̸̵̷̸̵̷̷̶̴̶̶̴̵̷̶̶̷̸̵̸̴̸̵̶̶̴̵̷̷̵̴̷̵̷̸̵̴̵̶̸̶̵̶̴̴̸̸̴̶̴̵̶̸̵̷̶̸̶̶̵̶̸̶̸̸̸̷̷̷̶̶̵̵̷̵̷̸…̸̴̵̸̷̶̵̵̴̷̵̸̸̴̷̷̴̷̴̵̸̷̶̶̶̵̸̶̸̵̸̵̴̵̴̷̶̵̸̶̵̶̵̸̶̴̵̸̶̸̵̸̷̴̷̴̶̸̴̵̶̸̵̵̷̴̵̶̵̶̶̶̶̸̵̵̵̷̴̷̴̶̷̸̵̶̶̸̴̴̷̷̷̸̶̸̵̶̷̶̶̵̸̵̶̶̶̴̶̴̸̶̶̵̶̵̵̸̷̶̴̶̵̸̷̷̴̴̸̴̸̶̵̸̴̵̴̴̵̸̸̷̴̷̸̷̵̴̴̴̵̸̷̵̴̵̸̶̵̷̷̶̸̶̴̸̸̴̵̷̷̶̷̸̷̴̸̸̶̶̴̶̴̵̷̸̶̷̵̴̵̸̵̷̷̸̶̸̴̴̴̴̸̵̷̶̶̵̵̷̸̶̶̵̴̸̴̷̶̷̸̵̵̶̶̶̵̷̵̶̸̵̵̵̸̵̴̴̵̶̴̸̷̸̷̸̷̸̶̸̸̷̵̵̷_

He clutched the side of his head, his voice hissed as he winced.

_No... it's not... it can't be..._

Impossible. These were the symptoms of someone actively resisting the brainwashing. He had no memory of exposing himself to such improper tampering. It wasn't that he remembers ever doing it, but surely he should have noticed that something was afoot in his brain. Shooting down every other rational possibility, any remaining possibilitiess are...

He looked up and saw varying faces of indifferent expressions staring at him, all blank-looking and judging his very existence. They seated at their intended chairs and waited for him to...

_. . ._

In an attempt to calm his nerves, he dragged his chair closer to the table and faced his plate. His face felt the smoke flying up from the seared tuna. The aroma smelled enticing.

As he picked up the chopsticks by the garnish and pointed it towards cut of fish, time ground to a halt at the mention of "secrets" and a very lamentable-sounding sigh at the drop of utensils on the porcelain plate.

"...Everyone...we need to discuss something here."

The crowd gave a look of attention towards Yukito, hovering the morsel close to their salivating mouths.

“Is this about what happened yesterday?” Hajime began, glancing at Sonia for a moment.

“Partly, yes… But other than that, there’s another thing you guys should know…”

“Now hold on,” Fuyuhiko dropped his chopsticks on the plate, “Why don’t we start with that little fiasco yesterday?”

“Huh? What happened yesterday?” Kazuichi asked, doing the same.

“Nagihata fought me yesterday.” Akane answered before anyone could explain.

“It’s _Hinata_.” Hajime rubbed his forehead irritatedly. “And let me correct you there, _you_ wanted to spar with _me_.”

“Yeah yeah, sorry about that, ‘kay? Wasn’t acting like myself back then… But we’re fine now! He patched me up then fought me then patched me up again!”

“And _you_ ,” Sonia stood up and glared at Hajime, “despite having the power to prevent it and knowing the consequences full well, allowed that to happen…” she slammed her injured wrist on the table, the sudden surge of pain making her face cringe for a moment, “…AGAIN?! Do you not realize…”

“Like I said,” the gymnast raised her voice over the princess’s, “It’s all fine already!”

"How can you declare that so readily, Owari-san?!" she argued back. “You should realize that we must not worsen this…abnormality that we have!”

“G-Guys—“

“I know that! But I’m not that same as that…” Akane was on the verge of breaking her chopsticks into pieces with how tightly she gripped them, “… _monster_ anymore, and it’s all thanks to Hi...nata!"

"That's besides the point!" Fuyuhiko countered. "If I didn't deck you, someone could've gotten fucked over!"

Something snapped within her. Like the gavel of a judge passing verdict, Akane brought down her fist, bringing forth a **thunderous** sound and rattling the plates and chopsticks on the table. "And what?! You saying I can't change?! You still think that I _enjoy_ causing trouble just for the heck of it?!"

"Owari-san... Kuzu—"

"THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT, YOU DUMBASS!!!" Fuyuhiko violently swiped at the air, his **infernal** eye quivering within the iris. "You didn't change a damn bit!"

"Stop it...!" Yukito stood up defiantly. "That's enough. Kuzuryu-kun..."

"You know what? You're right. You're _fucking_ right." He turned his back on them. "Enough of this kumbaya bullshit."

"Wait..." her voice trailed off as Fuyuhiko brushed it off with a wave of a hand, descending the stairs. "...Your breakfast..."

Sonia stood up. "I shall go after him."

"...I'm coming too." Yukito returned, standing up and leaving the rest.

A lull swiftly flew in like the tropical breeze from the open door to the outside stairwell of the hotel. Contrary to popular belief, the atmosphere didn't feel heavy at all...

...It was boggy, injected with miasmal **malice** – malice, solely directed at the man of the hour and yet, unfortunately, seemingly unaffected by it.

"Well that was something..." Kazuichi commented, having witnessed the unfitting scuffle on the dining table, thus making his meal more unpleasant. "Hey Owari, you want this? I'm not hungry."

As Akane grabbed his plate without question, the mechanic soon left the premises, whistling a tune with no melody and mumbling something about Sonia with worry.

"What a washte of gwood fwood..." Akane remarked, chewing the fish loudly then swallowing as she paused. "Like seriously, this is freakin' good! I think I could eat this all day long!"

Hajime rolled his eyes towards the open door. "Of course you'd think that. You're not a very picky eater."

_And you don't pick who you get food from too._

"Still, they're all dumb for throwing these all out." Akane took another huge chunk into her gaping mouth hole. "...Thish ish the besht fwood I've eber eatun!" She swallowed. "Can I have the others—"

"How insensitive of you." Hajime chastised. "You still don't have their permission to eat their share."

"But they left it here! Finders keepers!"

Hajime quickly finished his meal and stood up, washing his gullet with a glass of orange juice and wiping his mouth with the table napkin. "Do you agree with what Kuzuryu said about you? That you haven't changed your ways?"

The gymnast clicked her tongue and snorted dispassionately. "...No." She then crossed her arms. "Of course he's wrong but..."

"I won't tell you exactly what to do but you have a choice here." Hajime's eyes gestured towards the plates of food then returned to her, hoping that she would catch on. "Although, I expect you would not care at first." A stifled laugh betrayed his expression. "...Which is why I'll have to propose... _a deal_."

"Whaddya mean?"

"As I've said, I expect that you wouldn't care about what they feel towards you. Despise, tolerate, be indifferent... thinking about how you present yourself towards them is too much of a hassle, isn't it..."

"Y'know I don't friggin' understand what yer sayin', right?! Get to the point!"

"What I'm trying to insinuate here, is I know you don't act if it doesn't concern you directly. So why not make it so?"

"Alright. _Fine_. I'll give up. What do you want me to do?"

"Remedy this situation."

"Wha—"

"Just do what you have to do. If everything goes the way I hope it would... well..."

Hajime lets his lips curve upwards – this time, letting his rare excitement show.

"... **Expect a pleasant surprise tomorrow**."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what’s Hajime’s surprise? Anyone wanna wager a guess?

**Author's Note:**

> Will try to update this regularly.
> 
> (Heh… “try” they say. Isn’t even committed enough to finish their other fic)


End file.
